Constructing a Future
Hispanic builders association creates opportunities for members

SOUTH FLORIDA (By Christine Granados, Hispanic Magazine) November 2004 - The Latin Builders Association (LBA) in Florida is making sure Latinos have a hand in constructing America’s future. The association, the largest of its kind, lobbies lawmakers for the construction industry, brings in políticos for monthly luncheons, and awards substantial sums to charities.

LBA is an organization made up of 750 members, including individuals and companies related to the construction industry, such as, builders, developers, contractors, architects, engineers, plumbers, electricians, and tradesmen. The association lays claim to a whopping 80 percent of the residential construction in the Miami-Dade area.

But the bottom line for the nonprofit LBA is creating business opportunities in South Florida.

Keeping an eye out for builders’ interests is the way this 33-year-old, nonprofit organization has kept its membership 700-plus strong.

“What we strive for is to be aware of ordinances in the state legislature or in the Miami-Dade municipality that affect independent contractors, and we either support or fight the legislation. We keep an eye on the system to safeguard our interests,” says William Delgado, executive vice president of the LBA.
They are currently voicing opinions at the state legislature, where a new workman’s compensation law is being discussed.

“We’re representing small business in Tallahassee. We’re trying to get insurance laws that not only protect people but are affordable,” says Delgado, who has been an executive for LBA for 13 years.

They have enough clout to bring politicians such as Governor Jeb Bush, Florida House Majority Leader Marco Rubio, state House Speaker Johnnie Byrd, as well as mayoral candidates to speak at their monthly luncheons.

“We are a big political force because of the number of people in our association and the amount of money we can raise for a particular event,” says Delgado.
Another topic Delgado says the organization is on top of is land use.
“We need to start building vertical projects like we see in Europe and New York, where the downstairs house businesses and schools and upstairs house condominiums,” says Delgado. “It’s already beginning to happen in Coral Gables,” a neighboring city of Miami.

Back in May, there was a buying frenzy in Miami when an LBA member, the Related Group of Florida, opened a sales center for people to reserve a unit at the future Plaza on Brickell, a condominium complex. A line of 200 people waiting for their chance to purchase one of the 1,000 units formed at 6 a.m.
Related said it received about 800 reservation checks in a month for 10 percent of the purchase price. The units start at $170,000 and run close to $500,000, according to a Miami Herald report.

“Land is becoming very scarce,” says Mariazell Arias, the treasurer of LBA. “Most people here are used to building horizontally, now they are starting to build vertically. So our infrastructure has to accommodate that. A lot of our schools are already overburdened in the Miami-Dade area, and it’s a challenge we’re going to have to meet when we begin building vertically.”

Arias, an accountant who owns Arias and Associates, a business consulting firm in the construction industry, says the organization is helping address the challenge by keeping its membership well informed about the changes in the South Florida area.

Apparently, members are responsive to their association; the monthly luncheons average 300 people.

LBA also gives back to the community in the form of scholarships, toy drives, and involvement with national charities, such as cancer drives and Habitat for Humanity.

Even in a crowded real estate market, LBA is trying to stretch the bottom line.