Forst Construction is a third-generation design build company operating out of East Hampton, New York, specializing in high-end, high-custom residential projects. With roots dating back to World War II, the company’s rich family history forms a significant part of its identity today. I’m joined by Michael Forst, grandson of Stanley Silverblank, who introduced the Forst and Silverblank families to the industry back in the 1940s. Michael now holds the title of President in his reimagined version of the company he was born and bred into, still connected to his father and his grandfather’s history but forging a path of his own. “We specialize in custom residential construction, including ground-up homes and additions,” says Michael. “We do speculative projects, and we do a lot of remodel work, so we’re really diversified. A lot of that has to do with the maintenance side of our company, but more on that later.”
Michael has been in the business for over thirty years and has seen his family company evolve through many forms. “My grandfather, Stanley Silverblank, was an Engineer and a Navy Man. He started building on Long Island right after World War II. When he got out of the Navy he created his company, Rolan Homes. When he split from his business partner and went out on his own, Grandma had the idea to rebrand as Michael Homes. The company did very well. Michael Homes became a big developer in the mid-island Sayville area.”
In the early 80s, Michael’s high-school-sweetheart parents moved out to the Hamptons where they merged the passion and experience from both families in the form of a new company, Forst and Silverblank. “And that’s the family company that I came into in the early 90s,” Michael says. At that stage, he was still learning the business from the ground up, sweeping floors while also developing the administrative skills that would become increasingly important as the company modernized. “My mom taught me organizational skills, books, and computer literacy as we were entering the computer age and things were starting to be computerized,” he said. That included learning to estimate and analyze production timing on a computer, processes that had previously been completed by hand.
What differentiated Forst & Silverback from Michael Homes was its shift towards a more customized approach. “My grandfather’s company was more of a starter track home operation,” Michael says. “You were allowed to pick a color, between white, white and white! It was completely different to where we have gotten to now, which is very high-end, very custom.” It was very much a family operation, with Forst and his wife as partners, their son Michael moving up the ranks from Carpenter to Framer, Estimator, and on to Project Management. “My dad was doing somewhere around 20 homes a year, mostly high-end residential and some speculative projects,” Michael continues.
After going to college for Project Management and then moving into a partnership role, Michael was just at the cusp of an exciting career while his dad was winding down in an industry he had already mastered. “As my dad got older, he did not want to retire, but he just wanted to do one spec house at a time. That really wasn’t enough for me, so we sort of broke apart, separated intentionally, and my wife Amy and I went into business on our own. That’s when Forst Construction was created, around 2000. Forst and Silverblank is still in business today, and still doing one spec house a year. My dad just loves it!”
When Michael and Amy separated from Forst and Silverblank, they started out with small remodels while they found their feet. Before long they hit the ground running with full design build projects, which is where they are at today. “We handle the plans, the permitting, the selections. We have interior designers on staff, and we are detailing the entire house, which is a little different than going directly to the architect. We have an architect that we’ve been working with for 20 years now. It’s a different approach, and I think it’s a better approach, because you’re designing to budget.”
Michael describes how the Forst approach, no matter the job, is all about relationships. “It’s all relational, holding on to our clients and meeting them at every part of their life. Amy’s a real estate agent so we are helping our clients find the land or find the house, being part of their team to make smart choices based upon what the house needs, what doesn’t meet code, all those different components right at the beginning, then taking it into the design build process and staying with them through our maintenance service. We become their partner, and that opens up all the other work like remodeling, adding a basement, whatever they need.” Forst Construction currently does two to four homes a year, depending on the size of its projects, which reflects its highly customized and high-end approach. “We’re not a large track builder,” Michael says. “It’s high-end custom, and that means holding our client’s hand through the entire process, including the interior design. It’s a lot more than just being the general contractor on the job.”
“It’s high-end custom, and that means holding our client’s hand through the entire process, including the interior design. It’s a lot more than just being the general contractor on the job.”
Capturing the full design build services Forst Construction provides in the high-end residential space, Michael highlights a project for a client who became a partner who became a friend. “It would be the second home that I built for him,” Michael says. “When I built the first house, that was one of the largest projects I had ever done. It was 4,000 square feet, custom, super nice people and the start of a great relationship. Then we came into taking care of their house through the maintenance side and we stayed connected, became friends. He came to me looking to buy another property, which we assisted him through. Amy helped locate it and handled that real estate transaction. We designed and built a 10,000 square foot, super high end and modern home, which included things I had never really been involved with before. The house was built through COVID, so it was intense all around. We were only allowed to have one guy on site at a time until we finally got them to allow us to secure the house. We fought for that. We were able to get a roof on and tighten the house up from the elements, because we were right at that point. Even through that challenge, we completed this 10,000 square foot ultra-high-end house in 18 months, still on schedule with being shut down. I don’t know how we pulled that off, but we did.”
The project was a valuable learning experience for Forst, not only because of the backdrop of the pandemic, but also because of the level of detail and customization it demanded. “We brought in some other key partners, including high-end interior designer, Kiki Dennis from Deborah Burke and Associates. We also brought in a lighting consultant, Gary Gordon, who had worked on the White House. The house was just amazing, every step of it, the layers, so many details. It ended up coming in way over budget based upon some of these interior wants, but we were able to take their vision and save $1,000,000, just by making some design changes. We still maintain the house today. They’re extremely happy with the final product and we’re extremely proud of it.” Reflecting on that project and the joy of seeing it come to fruition, Michael says that every house is as rewarding as the next. “I’m living through your big event, so they’re all big events. This was just a big event for me as well. I treat each house as an event because it’s important to each person, right? Whether it’s a $250,000 finished basement, which is big for somebody and not for others, or a $20 million new construction, which is big for most. It’s big for them, so it’s big for us.”
What allows Forst to remain engaged with its clients and to stay connected to its buildings long after they are handed over, is its Peace of Mind Home Maintenance service. “Peace of Mind Home Maintenance by Forst was created about 18 years ago, but we’ve really just started to market it and push it beyond just our clientele. We offer preventative maintenance plans and packages that are really customized to each person’s home. We’re doing this to continue the relationship that we built. It takes two or three years to design and build in the Hamptons through all the processes. That’s a long time to create a relationship to then just let it go. We thought it was really important to diversify and grow and create this other arm, and so preventative maintenance plans was what we decided to do.”
As part of this service, Forst has yearly contracts with its clients to handle whatever they need done, aside from landscaping and pool maintenance. “I’m a certified home inspector, so I do a home inspection on the house every year. That’s been one of the things that people really like because we’re sort of catching things before they get too far, making recommendations, and then they get to decide what they want to do and what they don’t want to do. There’s no pressure, but they get a written list every year with photographs documenting where they are and what they should be thinking about. Maybe it’s time for a roof. Maybe it’s time to have the house power washed and cleaned. There’s lots of things that come up, like finding little leaks, so it’s about being ahead of it instead of behind it. Our clients know that they can make one call and get whatever they need done, done, and that the person answering the phone is someone they feel confident in and comfortable with. It’s all about fostering a relationship. It leads from that, and then all of a sudden, it’s the next house, or it’s their friend, and it just continues every connection. Nobody likes maintenance, right? Nobody wants the cost of maintenance, but to not do the maintenance, the end result can come at a much greater cost.”
For Forst Construction, the future will be shaped by the same principles that have defined its journey so far and brought the company to where it is today: a proud family legacy, a true design-build approach, lasting client relationships, and a commitment to maintaining the homes it creates long after construction is complete. “We have a long list of interesting projects and clients that we’re working for and hope to work for,” Michael says of the company’s plans. “We have some large commercial projects in front of us, some subdivisions, as well as reaching out to our existing clients that are ready to upgrade into another house and searching for properties to design and build with them. We have brought on a partner, Matthew Seltz, who’s been working with my family for over 40 years as our subcontractor, and he handles all the high-end construction supervision. Our staff keeps growing.” Through its involvement in local building industry committees, Forst Construction is building strong relationships both on and off the field. “I have stepped up as the Chairman for the East End Chapter of Long Island Builders Institute,” Michael says, “where we’re trying to build a partnership with government and come up with solutions to help our town and our industry. That has value and gives us a competitive edge. My family’s been part of that organization since conception. My grandfather was an original member, so since 1941.”
Though the Forst and Silverblank family of companies has changed throughout the generations, it has remained just that – family. Michael and Amy carry these family values forward with Matt. As they lead Forst Construction to continued success in the industry. “You need someone that’s going to lead you based upon their experience. I have over 30 years of experience, plus the experience from my father, my mother, and my grandfather, who really passed along the road of hard knocks. I feel blessed to have that experience ahead of me. Its crafted me to be who I am today.”
