About Us

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Mr. Steven Black is the founder and President of Optima CM LLC. Steve's experience includes working in NYC, Seattle and Jacksonville for design-build, Property Management and General Contracting companies that served both national and international clientele. Through his career he has been responsible for overall project management and ultimately, client satisfaction. Providing continuous updates and feedback to his clients, Steve worked hand-in-hand with all project stakeholders to assure his projects met functional and aesthetic criteria, as well as being delivered on schedule, within budget and with high quality expectations.

After graduating from SUNY Buffalo in 1989, Steve moved to New York City where he began his career in the architectural industry. He started at an medium-sized architectural firm, specializing in mostly high-profile corporate tenant improvement projects. Within the first couple years Steve was promoted to Project Manager and led the renovation of the TIAA-CREF corporate offices. Ultimately Steve spent his years in NYC gathering a multitude of experience, working on new construction, tenant improvements, and custom residential projects.

in 1995, Steve moved to Seattle, WA with his now wife Cathy. While in Seattle, he worked in a very unique design-build/private equity firm. As a Project Architect/Manager, his largest and most successful project was the renovation of an existing 175,000 SF high-bay warehouse in to a 3-story 550,000 SF/$255M data center. Upon completion, it was the world’s largest web-hosting/data center.

In 2000, Steve and family moved to Jacksonville, FL. In Jacksonville, he worked at an international design-build firm where he was a Sr. Design Project Manger, and specialized in commercial projects. This is where Steve gained his most valuable experience, working on a wide array of project types including; automotive, educational, faith-based, medical,  military, office, and light industrial. In 2009, he was promoted to Commercial Division Manager, where he led a team of integrated architects and engineers. His crowning project was for Nestle, where he was the Project Executive for a 150,000 SF/$58M new R&D facility. This was only one of seven in the Nestle global portfolio, and the largest.

In 2015 Steve’s entrepreneurial spirit kicked in and he created Optima Consulting. As a construction Owner Representative firm, the goal of Optima Consulting was (and is) to combine Steve’s vast design and construction experience into a single entity that provides business owners with both sides of the project management process. Now he has launched Optima-CM LLC. Unlike most Certified Building Contractor/Construction Management companies which only have the construction side of the equation, OCM offers decades of design, construction, client management experience; OCM's creativity, knowledge and tested Value Management Process to the benefit of your project. A unique aspect of OCM's culture, is its ability to visualize and communicate design intent to all project stakeholders. This knack of translating design concept into brick and mortar, makes OCM a very valuable project leader. We bring to your project a unique combination of design and construction expertise that successfully delivers your project On Time, On Budget, and with the Quality you expect from a premier company like Optima Construction Management LLC.