Skanska USA head elected chair of NYC Building Congress

Skanska USA’s Richard Cavallaro is taking the reins at the New York City Building Congress.

Cavallaro was elected chair of the association at the group’s last meeting, succeeding Thornton Tomasetti’s Tom Scarangello, whose two-year term expired. 

“This is an exciting time to be a part of the design, construction and real estate industry,” Cavallaro said in a statement. “I am extremely fortunate to follow in the footsteps of Tom Scarangello.” He added that he will continue work on the Building Congress Task Force on Innovation and Best Practices, which Scarangello created.

Cavallaro got his start as an airport engineer for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He joined Skanska in 1996. He is also a member of a nine-person group that is in charge of Skanska’s global operations.

The Swedish construction group is leading a consortium selected to overhaul LaGuardia Airport’s Central Terminal. The project is expected to cost at least $4 billion. The company has also made headlines in the past two years for its high-profile feud with Forest City Ratner over the troubled B2 modular project in Brooklyn.

Skanska, the project’s former construction manager, blamed Ratner’s design flaws for tens of millions of dollars overruns, while the developer accused Skanska of closing the modular factory in order to get more money out of the company. Ratner ultimately bought Skanska’s share of the modular company. — Kathryn Brenzel