Anthony Rinaldi, The Rinaldi Group, LLC

What was the best thing that happened to you or your firm in 2014? The best thing that happen to our firm in 2014 was we were approved by Arch Insurance as their first non-Union CM firm awarded an SDI or Subcontractor Default Insurance program in the aggregate of $125 million. What was your most notable project, deal, transaction or personal achievement in 2014? There are two most notable projects we have achieved in 2014. One is The Riu Hotel Times Square which is a 30-story, $106 million, 335,000 s/f hotel in Times Square N.Y.C. with 641-keys and the other is a high-end, luxury condominium conversion of a Landmark public building formally known as the New York Life Insurance and Clock Tower Building built between 1880's and 1890's and standing 15 stories high and spanning 420,000 s/f and soon to be housing some 131 units. Current estimated budget $170 million. What are you looking forward to accomplishing in 2015? From a volume standpoint, we are looking to exceed annual sales for the period ending 2015 to exceed $250 million against an overall book-of-business in excess of $750 million. What are some of your real estate predictions for 2015? For the residential sector, mortgage originations for multi-family housing should rise another 10-to-15 percent continuing the 60% increase between 2011 and 2014...meaning multi-family housing and development will remain strong, while all economic indicators predict interest rates to rise up between 4.6% and 5% by year's end. As for the hospitality or hotel sector, there seems to be no end in sight with another 55-hotels in the pipeline of development over the next 2-years between 2015 and 2016, which will accommodate another 115,000 guestrooms throughout the 5-boroughs. Construction in New York City alone is, on the whole, anticipated to break an annual threshold of $30 billion.