JOHN E. COOK
Senior Consultant

John Cook has over 35 years experience in the construction management business, and has supervised and brought to successful completion projects totaling over $800 million in value, in locations spanning the Southeastern USA. He has managed the permitting and development planning for numerous large-scale projects, including some of the largest Developments of Regional Impact in the Northeast Florida region. Mr. Cook is widely acknowledged as one of the most respected permitting professionals in the Northeast Florida marketplace, by both clients and the regulatory agencies themselves.

After beginning his career with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, he served with several construction companies in Northeast Florida prior to joining the Haskell Company as Senior Vice President of Construction Operations. The Haskell Company was then and remains one of the largest design/build companies in the South. While at the Haskell Company, he acted as project supervisor for the facility housing one of the largest mainframe computer installations in history, for AT&T American TransTech in Jacksonville, and completed this award-winning project under 12 months, from start to finish. This project initiated a wave of expansions by AT&T in Jacksonville that made them the largest private sector employer in the city for a time, and gained for Jacksonville the international reputation as being a business community that can get projects completed on time and on budget in tight time-frame, ìmission criticalî situations. John Cook initiated this community reputation, which still survives to this day.

Mr. Cook then served as President of R.S.&H. Constructors, the construction division of Reynolds, Smith & Hills, one of the largest architectural and engineering firms in the South.

Other noteworthy projects managed by Mr. Cook include the Mercedes Benz of North America Southeastern Distribution Center in Jacksonville, (the largest such facility in the US), and a variety of technically difficult projects involving refrigerated storage and warehousing, precision climate-controlled facilities, and facilities for computer and telecommunications installations. Mr. Cook also served as the Project Manager for Freedom Commerce Centre, one of the first DRI projects in the State of Florida, and successfully permitted and constructed its first phase of development in one of the most difficult regulatory situations ever permitted in Florida. His skill in permitting complex, environmentally sensitive projects was established with this project and has now become widely known and respected by regulatory agencies as well as end users.

Mr. Cook is a Licensed General Contractor and Real Estate Broker, and a graduate of the University of Florida.