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We recently sat down with Matt Novak, a dedicated and experienced project manager here at Southway Builders, to learn more about his background, career journey, and his thoughts on the company’s exciting expansion into North Carolina starting with Trinity Court in Chapel Hill, where he is Project Manager. Matt started his construction career under the mentorship of his father, and has worked his way up from laborer to Project Manager. With over 11 years at Southway, Matt has played a pivotal role in implementing innovative processes at Southway and driving project success. 

Question: Where did you start your construction career?

Answer: I started my construction career as a laborer under my father, who was a project manager for an interior fitout company in Maryland. I then went to University of Maryland College Park for civil engineering – with the goal in mind that I was always going to go back to construction. I learned a lot about problem solving, and made some great connections as part of my time there, along with starting to learn about project management.

Question: What was your first role at Southway, and how has your role changed over the years?

Answer: My first role at Southway was as an intern, during my final year at Maryland, working under Matt Bolyard and Brian Hartzell. I first found out about the internship at Southway online through the Terrapin portal, and then worked with Southway part time during my final semester before joining them full-time after I graduated. After my internship I became a project engineer. I was later promoted to project manager and have grown in that role up to my current position as PM Level 3. I’ve been with Southway for almost 11 years now.

Question: What does a typical day look like for you in your current role?

Answer: It really varies depending on what stage of a project we’re working in.  For example, on the Trinity Court project in North Carolina, the past few months have really been about project startup and scheduling. Our big push right now is getting all of our subs under contract, and setting and managing the schedule. We’re working through bid evaluations, conversations with different subcontractors to make sure our pricing is crystal clear and in line with the project requirements, and ensuring our scopes are picked up correctly. We’re working to make sure that the entire project schedule is set up correctly to meet Southway’s expectations over the next year, and ensure the project is completed on time, and on budget.

Question: What excites you most about the Southeast expansion?

Answer: I think there are two aspects that really appeal to me. First, the opportunities that this opens up for our team to have an impact on new communities and build new relationships. We get to work with new clients, cities and towns, partners and subcontractors to build a quality product that will benefit the community all the way down to the end user. The second part is the challenge. I really enjoy problem-solving, and Trinity Court is one of the most logistically challenging projects I’ve had the opportunity to work on. It’s obviously different from a Baltimore city project where you’re in tight quarters, with narrow roads, and you have neighbors all around. Trinity is a more secluded site with one way in, one way out, down a 80 foot hill from top to bottom. It’s still surrounded by neighbors and the UNC campus is just up the road.  It’s also an important project for the town of Chapel Hill.

Question: What do you like to do outside of work?

Answer: My life has changed a lot in the past few years. I have two young daughters now, ages 1 and 2, so a lot of our free time revolves around them. We moved from Baltimore City out to Frederick County, Maryland to get more space for them, so on weekends you’ll find us out walking the neighborhood, visiting farms in the area, or going to the zoo. We also have a Bernese mountain dog, so we like to go down to the Potomac River and let him swim around. I’d say most of our time, when it’s not 120 degrees, is spent outdoors exploring the area and letting our girls learn about the world.