Pat Marrano and Tony Cimato have known each other for years.
They are among the most prominent homebuilders in the region, with Marrano running Marrano/Marc Equity Corp. and Cimato overseeing Cimato Brothers Construction and Cimato Brothers Development.
Drive around neighborhoods in Amherst, Clarence, Orchard Park, Lancaster and elsewhere, and in all likelihood, a quality home built by Marrano or Cimato is there.
While they run separate companies, what many don’t realize is that the two companies frequently work together.
“It started when we just started buying some (vacant) lots together and it mushroomed from there,” Marrano said.
“It started when we just started buying some (vacant) lots together and it mushroomed from there,” Marrano said.
In the past 25 years, there have been eight Marrano and Cimato subdivisions, which collectively represent nearly $333 million in private investment. They are Deer Springs in Hamburg, Eagle Heights in Orchard Park and Greythorne, The Bromptons, Monarch Oaks and Nottingham Village in Amherst. Also, the fast-emerging Pleasant Meadows in Lancaster along with Summerfield Farms, also in Lancaster.
Usually, Marrano/Marc Equity serves as the homebuilder while Cimato serves as development contractor, putting in roads, utilities and other infrastructure needs.
"We have grown together," Cimato said. "This has been a prosperous business relationship for both of us."
Development partnerships and joint ventures are nothing new. But in the immediate Buffalo Niagara region and residential development circles, the partnership between Marrano/Marc Equity and Cimato serves as a model of how two companies can work together.
"People in our industry really admire their relationship," said Joseph McIvor Jr., executive vice president of the Buffalo Niagara Builders' Association. "Few partnerships have survived as well as that one. It really is one of those great relationships that has withstood the test of time.
"It has made a lot of people jealous," McIvor added.
Pleasant Meadows, located on Pleasantview Road, is one of the latest examples of the partnership.
Once a large tract of vacant land that generated no tax dollars, since 2006 they have developed and closed on 240 residential units that generated $63.5 million in new revenue.
The units run the gamut from single family homes to townhouses and some patio homes.
Marrano and Cimato are currently working on the latest phase, which includes 25 single-family-home lots.
Including Pleasant Meadows, the Marrano/Cimato partnership this year is on pace to develop 170 homes that represent at least $15 million in private investment. The lots are spread among Lancaster, Amherst and Hamburg.
"We are the only two land developers and builders who have the financial wherewithal to develop and complete Pleasant Meadows," Cimato said.
Now that doesn't mean that every project they undertake is goverened by the partnership. Marrano/Marc Equity has its own projects, as does Cimato.
But Marrano estimates that 60 percent of his company's projects are done in conjunction with Cimato. It's about the same for Cimato.
"when Tony's involved, I know I don't have to worry," Marrano said. "His work is quality."
Looking ahead, he said he's cautiously optimistic about the local landscape for homebuilders. Marrano/Marc Equity has projects under way in virtually every major, lcoal town.
Thanks to the unusual weather this winter and early spring, coupled with still low intereest rates and stronger consumer confidence, Marrano said traffic is up at his weekly open houses and models.
"Probably somewhere around 40 percent," he said.
"We're moving along at an intelligent pace," he added.
Last year, Marrano/Marc Equity had 113 closings. The number was below preliminary projections.
Still, it was about one-sixth of all new housing permits issued last year in Erie and Niagara counties.
"We're still feeling the effects of the recession," said John Manns, vice president of Marrano/Marc Equity.
For now, Marrano said his focus will remain on the region's suburban towns.
And while he acknowledges there are solid residential development opportunities in Buffalo, particularly around the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, he said that market is being left to others.
"We are comfortable with what we are doing," he said.
