Cosan Construction is a masonry and self-leveling cement contractor based in Mount Vernon, New York. Founded in 2014 by Terence Ferguson and his partner Aaron King, Cosan first found its footing doing small scale masonry projects throughout New York City and Westchester, New York. Now in its tenth year, Cosan’s focus is on large scale, new construction projects where it specializes in structural masonry, self-leveling underlayment and gypsum floors. Terence joins me today to reflect on a successful first decade in business, and to discuss Cosan’s plans for steady growth and continued success. “Over time we earned a reputation for reliability and quality,” Terence says, “and as a result our contracts and client base grew steadily. Today we’ve got two divisions, masonry and self-leveling cement, with an overall workforce of two-hundred and fifty. Our masonry division has a strong presence in the affordable housing market, and we specialize in large structural masonry, or block and plank construction, as it’s often referred to.”
Reliability and quality are two of the cornerstones of running a successful construction business, and with this reputation carved out at an early stage, Cosan Construction was off to a promising start. “We have a proven track record of delivering the most aggressive superstructure schedules while maintaining unmatched levels of safety and quality,” Terence says. “On large projects it is typical for us to have a manpower of one-hundred and twenty guys while working on superstructure and brick façade simultaneously.” While some companies have been forced to cut corners when resourcing projects, the opposite has been the case for Cosan, and this is reflected in the company’s ability to consistently deliver projects on schedule. The scale of Cosan’s projects grew in tandem with its client base, but that attention to detail that earned the company its reputation in the early days did not falter off the back of the increased demand. Today, Cosan’s established masonry division offers its clients a turnkey masonry package that sees projects from engineering and shop drawing phase through to execution and closeout. “Shop drawings and engineering is the first step when awarded a project,” Terence says. “Our project management team develops drawings for CMU and brickwork which mitigates any potential issues or drawing conflicts. When it’s time to mobilize, we self-perform all aspects of our work. That’s everything from surveying, masonry, waterproofing, scaffolding, precast manufacturing, and trucking. Anything that could impact the schedule we perform in house and oversee to ensure that the project is running efficiently and on schedule.”
Self-leveling cement, known elsewhere as underlayment, is a self-leveling sub-floor that provides a smooth surface prior to applying floor finishes. Cosan Construction’s underlayment division does just that, on an exceptionally large scale. “We’ve got an underlayment division that works across all markets in the New York City region, as well as upstate New York and New England,” says Terence. “Our underlayment clients range from general contractors, CMS, concrete superstructure and flooring contractors, and we regularly install over 100,000 square feet a week.” Cosan hit a significant milestone back in 2018 when it partnered with Maxxon Corporation, which is the manufacturer of the underlayment products that Cosan installs. “We became a distributor and a certified installer for the Maxxon range of self-leveling cements, gypsum underlayment and sound control mats. This was a successful pairing to our growing masonry business as we could offer an additional service to our clients with the same efficiency and quality that they had come to expect from us. We install Maxxon product with a fleet of state-of-the-art pumps which automate batching and can pump as high as fifty floors.”
A typical week sees Cosan’s underlayment team operating throughout the New York City and New England Region. “They could start their week in the boroughs at an affordable housing development, then move to a condo building in Midtown Manhattan, then finish the week at a multifamily building in New England. Thanks to our partnership with Maxxon we have products to meet the diverse needs of each market. We install 2500 and 3500 psi gypsum cement, typically over precast plank frame construction for clients looking for a harder, more premium solution. We have 4500 and 5500 Portland cement based products which in some cases and can be left exposed for a natural concrete look finished floor. For projects requiring deep fill, we have low density fill product which is typically 80% lighter than traditional concrete. This product was proven popular in New York City in pre-war buildings, mill renovations and other projects where weight is a concern.”
Project by project, Cosan Construction honed its craft while remaining committed to maintaining its hard-earned reputation for quality and reliability. Cosan’s project portfolio is a testament to this fact, and Terence takes me proudly through some of the showstoppers within it. In the same year that Cosan elevated its self-leveling capabilities through its clever partnership with Maxxon, the company also completed its first Structural Masonry project. “The Gilbert was an 18-story block and plank structure on 1st Ave in Manhattan complete with full brick façade,” Terence says, “Both the superstructure and brick install came in ahead of schedule, and the success of the project reinforced our reputation of reliability and efficiency.” Next up is 560 Utica Ave, an affordable housing development and mixed-use building in Brownsville, Brooklyn. “We’re hired by Monadnock and we’re providing the masonry superstructure and the full brick façade on both towers. We’ve got about one hundred and twenty guys there on a typical day, and we’re self-performing everything from the masonry, waterproofing, and scaffolding.” 560 Utica showcases not only Cosan’s full suite of capabilities, but also its fundamental approach to doing business. Scheduled for 322 units, it captures the project scale that has become commonplace for the decade-old company. With a full scope of work including masonry and self-leveling, it captures Cosan’s ability to self-perform. With over one-hundred workers on site on a typical day, it captures Cosan’s commitment to providing the resources required to get the job done efficiently. And with the building at 75% at the time of interview and due for topping off in early December, the project captures perhaps one of Cosan’s most valued attributes: finishing the job on schedule. Another project that is representative of Cosan’s approach is 445 Gerrard Avenue in the Bronx. “445 Gerrard Ave was a 338-unit mixed-use building where we were hired by Menad to install the masonry superstructure, brick, façade, scaffold and self-leveling. We started the project in August of 21. It was a difficult project logistically, as the building was being built just feet away from I97. Despite this, we completed each 30,000 square foot floor in seven-day cycles. The upper floors of the superstructure were an intricate blend of masonry and structural steel. As the superstructure reached halfway, we simultaneously wrapped the building in brick at a rate of ten days per floor. Once the brick was complete, we poured Maxxon’s 3500 psi gypsum cement throughout the building.”
Next up is Rockaway Village in Far Rockaway, Queens, which Cosan has been working on since 2021.
“This is a multi-phase development with Lettire Construction and will have 1700 new residential units when complete. We have installed 360,000 square feet of brick façade, or 2.5 million bricks, and 700,000 square feet of self-leveling cement.” Terence goes on to showcase some projects within Cosan’s underlayment division, such as the Willits Point redevelopment in Queens for which they are pouring 650,000 square feet of Maxxon Level-Crete material along with lightweight concrete roof slabs. “This is the first phase of the redevelopment which will bring 2500 residential units, a hotel and a soccer stadium to the area. We’re also working on 520 5th Ave, a new boutique skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, at 1000 vertical feet. This is the second tallest building on 5th Ave and our crews are pouring Maxxon Level-Crete, completing 3 floors per trip. We intend to pump the majority of this building from street level, adding a stage pump halfway to maximize efficiency. Considering the top logistics on the job we install at night, allowing other trades to resume their work on the freshly poured floors the very next morning. This, paired with pumping from the street from street level, reduces overall downtime for the self-leveling operations to 24 hours.”
After a successful first decade in business, Cosan Construction strikes a desirable balance between youth and experience. It has on its side both a young and energetic team, and a project portfolio packed with some of the largest buildings in New York and its surrounding counties. Reflecting on the last decade and looking forward to the next, Cosan Construction finds motivation, but not complacency, in its success. The plan is to move forward with the same energy and enthusiasm that carried the company through its first ten years, while maintaining the quality service and consistent reliability it has become known for. “Our plan for the future is to continue to invest in ourselves with new equipment and technology,” Terence says. “We feel this positions us well to offer our clients a high-quality service, safely and efficiently. We plan on steadily growing our client base and look forward to another ten years in the industry.”
