Gary Allen Casazza (left), President and Managing Member of Gary Allen Modular Homes LLC, with Partner and Sales Director Joe Girgenti.

An example of a multifamily modular home supplied by Ritz-Craft Corporation. This design also can be used for student housing or affordable housing.

Gary Allen Casazza, President and Managing Member of Gary Allen Modular Homes LLC (GAMH), is a hands-on proponent of modular building construction: off-site construction that uses innovative technology practices. The company uses this advanced, factory-built approach to build custom homes for homeowners and developers. GAMH also works with wood and metal containers and pods for use in emergency management and disaster relief.

The company builds quality homes and, increasingly, multifamily structures with modular construction, including schools, dorms and hotels. “We represent factories with modular expertise,” Gary says. “We will work with developers from the design phase to setting the building on its foundation.”

At job sites, all employees wear shirts that say, “I do quality work.” It sums up the level of excellence that Gary expects. “It’s not that we don’t make mistakes—if we do, we fix them.” Most of his approximately 60 employees have been with him for years, some for 20 years.

Gary led the establishment of Brooklyn, New York-based GAMH in 2012, following Hurricane Sandy, with investment partners Peter Hogan and Sal Girgenti and Sales Director Joe Girgenti, who manages sales and accounting. Joe brings years of real estate experience to the company and leads the sales team. Gary handles operations and management of the company.

Gary started his first modular construction company more than 20 years ago—New Jersey-based Gary Allen LLC, which constructs single-family modular homes and performs renovation work.

“The construction industry needs new ideas. When I first learned about the modular method, I knew it would be a game changer,” Gary says. He grew up working for his family’s Brooklyn-based food business, initially performing renovation work and eventually leading construction projects as the company’s operations and locations expanded.

Gary’s leadership in the modular industry includes serving on the European Advisory Council of the Modular Building Institute and on the board of directors of the Modular Home Builders Association.

The Saint Crispin Social Ministry House is one of GAMH’s modular residential homes recognized with Home of the Month awards by the Modular Home Builders Association. The two-story, 4,700-square-foot multi-use facility was built for Saint Anthony of Padua Parish in Red Bank, New Jersey.

Quality, Safety and Speed

“I prefer modular construction because it is faster, smarter, safer and greener than traditional construction methods,” Gary says. The components are built in a controlled environment, resulting in superior quality and a shorter project timeframe. “In a given year, a contractor can perform more modular projects compared to site-built projects.”

While the price of modular construction is less than site-built, Gary believes its bigger advantages are quality and speed. “A modular home is built with 30 percent more wood than a site-built home. However, waste is almost zero at the job site.” The components are picked up with a crane, moved from the manufacturing point to delivery point and then set in place.

He also points out the energy efficiency for modular homes built with this accurate technology. “During site-built projects, each piece of wood is installed and measured by workers in the field. By contrast, calculations for modular homes are done by computer. Most of the wood is cut by computers. Walls are built on a flat surface. The assembly method achieves a level of squareness and tightness difficult to achieve in the field,” Gary says. “In addition, the homes and workers aren’t exposed to outside elements or weather conditions during the manufacturing process.”

In his experience, the modular construction process also results in a stronger product. “We built modular homes on Long Beach Island prior to Hurricane Sandy. When I contacted those customers after the storm, they reported that their homes survived. The only loss was the latticework around the bottom of their homes.”

The modular construction environment is inherently safer for workers. “In the factory, the work is performed in a climate-controlled environment and at a single level instead of on scaffolding, including framing and roofing. The completed boxes are picked up and placed on top of each other.”

Modular construction also minimizes project disruption in an urban environment. “It is less disruptive to the community,” Gary says. Modular construction eliminates many site management challenges required to build a single-family home or a skyscraper, from deliveries to parking requirements. The modules are delivered and lifted into place with a crane all at one time, compared to 30-40 workers working on site for weeks or months and multiple deliveries of materials, Gary says. “This allows us to deliver a good product at a fair price and without any aggravation, whether this customer is a consumer or the City of New York.”

Modular Construction and Disaster Recovery

The Build It Back program, administered by the New York City Mayor’s Office of Housing Recovery Operations, was established to help families repair, rebuild and elevate homes damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

GAMH constructed 80 modular homes in Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens during the program, representing nearly half of the 200 modular units completed by the city.

“Build It Back had its challenges, but the modular component was one of the shining stars,” Gary says. “We championed changes to the New York City building code that led to implementing this modular component, saving the city a considerable amount of money in new construction costs.”

Gary participated in numerous meetings with city engineers to design and utilize the efficiency of modular construction. That included the logistics of maneuvering components through the city and over bridges. “The city created a war room to address issues that arose and get the people in charge on the phone immediately. This cut bureaucracy tremendously and was part of the cost savings of building back with modular homes,” Gary adds.

“As simple as it sounds, one of the biggest issues in the industry is a quick, professional response,” he says. During the Build It Back program, Gary provided his cellphone number to all customers. “Not only did I include it, I answered calls promptly and responded to all issues promptly.” The team is rightfully proud of the quality homes they built for families affected by the terrible storm.

Community Support

Gary has committed his time and leadership skills to his local community, the Borough of Rumson, New Jersey. “I believe in being a part of the solution instead of complaining,” he says. That includes 12 years of service on the town’s board of education and 16 years on its planning board.

Gary is also an elected council member for Rumson. “I enjoy work with a team of people who are very conservative on how we spend taxpayers’ money.”

Serving the community is part of the company’s culture. Sales Director Joe Girgenti has served for many years running and promoting youth sports programs in Brooklyn.

The company is also a longtime sponsor of the Rumson St. Patrick’s Day Parade. GAMH’s Pete Hogan was one of the original organizers. “It’s close to his heart, and it has grown to be the second or third largest parade in New Jersey,” Gary says. The parade benefits local charities.

Gary notes the immense issue with affordable housing in the United States. “We have a tremendous opportunity to use modular construction to provide homes that middle-class and working-class families can afford and be proud of,” he says.

Gary loves what he does and speaks from the heart. “I’m a Stage 4 cancer survivor. I don’t know why I’m here, but I do know that any good that can be done is a gift. That doesn’t make me an easy businessman, but it does make me try to help others.”