TAMPA, Fla. -
The $1.8-billion Grow Financial Federal Credit Union recently promoted Joel Pacoraro to senior vice president-director of property administration. It’s a title that’s still relatively new among credit unions. Below, Mr. Pacoraro talks about the job and what it entails.
CUJ: What is the ideal background/training for the position?
Pacoraro: People enter the profession of Property Administration with various backgrounds and levels of education. The one common denominator is the ability to handle organized chaos with a management style that gives the impression the job is simple. While an in-depth knowledge of real estate, facilities, construction, engineering and asset management are required, people management is at the top of my list of qualifications. You need to be able to bring closure to each deal, with all parties leaving on good terms and the mission accomplished. I would recommend that anyone in this position possess a personality that is comfortable with personal interaction–along with passion for the profession and an entrepreneurial spirit that emanates leadership. When all these traits come together, you’ll be in the driver’s seat and everyone will be looking to you for direction every step of the way. My rule of thumb: “Faint of heart need not apply.”
CUJ: As credit unions grow their branch networks, costs can grow exponentially. What advice on monitoring expenses can you offer from your perspective?
Pacoraro: The first step, as in any construction project, is to develop a design and establish a budget. It is very important at the design stage to pay close attention to future, recurring maintenance issues and operating costs. The type and quality of materials utilized in construction and finishing will go a long way toward maintaining your facilities in Class A condition, without devastating your operations budget. In order to control recurring costs, you must evaluate the life cycle, maintenance requirements and housekeeping specifications for the products utilized. We design for improved operating efficiency, waste reduction, energy utilization and occupant comfort. Grow Financial’s mission is to build first-class facilities that incorporate engineering value and functionality to serve our membership. The challenging task is to design a building that is first-class and presents the appearance of costing more than you invested without compromising on quality. To accomplish this, you must be extremely involved with the entire design and budget process from concept to finished product. Our goal for each facility is that it performs as well 10 years from now as it does today.
CUJ: What of your own credit union’s plans for property growth/branches?
Pacoraro: Grow Financial has a formal expansion committee that oversees new location development. Our mission is to explore existing and emerging markets with a methodical approach for improving the delivery of services to our members. To accomplish this, the credit uion has designed three primary branch formats: 1) A stand-alone building; 2) A storefront with drive-thru and; 3) An in-line storefront. Having three branch formats give us the flexibility to match new location requirements with the most cost- effective product design. Currently underway is the construction for a retail concept storefront branch. This location is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2008. The current plans for growth are to develop three new locations per year utilizing a combination of our standard formats. Accomplishing this requires an acute awareness of real estate market trends and timely information of strategically available sites.
CUJ: What is your analysis/view of the emerging trends in ecologically sensitive/energy efficient building?
Pacoraro: LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is one of the hot topics in the construction industry. Make no mistake about it, “green buildings” are here to stay and this is not a “feel good” fad. Grow Financial embraced good stewardship of natural resources and energy conservation before it was popular to do so. Our new corporate headquarters, opened in the summer of 2005, was designed for maximum conservation of utility consumption. We proactively work to incorporate this same focus on optimum efficiency in every facility we build. Environmentally-friendly practices reflect our corporate responsibility to the community and are a substantial part of the cost-control process. Environmentally responsible business practices will continue to expand and I believe become a standard part of the permitting process. Best practices will continue to be established as we experiment with more techniques and products. In our environmentally sensitive age, “building green” has become the norm. (c) 2008 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.cujournal.com http://www.sourcemedia.com
