Major Developer Criticizes Immigration Policy

In a letter to employees, Bozzuto Group CEO Toby Bozzuto wrote of the virtues of diversity in construction, saying “send them to us” in reference to the immigrants detained at the border.

CNBC reports that “in 2018, 47% of general construction laborers were Hispanic or Latino.” The share was higher in specialty sectors: “70% of drywall and ceiling tile installers, 56% of roofers and 55% of painters.”

Both single-family and multi-family homebuilders cite the current labor shortage as the key cause of higher prices and slower productivity.

All this is not lost on the CEO of the Bozzuto Group, a large multi-family developer up and down the East Coast as well as in mid-Western cities. Bozzuto Group has developed, acquired and built more than 45,000 condominium homes and apartments, with annual construction revenue of $500 million, according to its website.

“The increasingly negative language we are hearing is in direct opposition to the ethos of this company,” Bozzuto wrote. “We are all part of the Bozzuto family, and as such we celebrate and welcome each other with open arms...It is not enough to stand by as intolerance of the ‘other’ becomes increasingly normalized.”

“Indeed, don’t send them home, send them to us,” he went on “Send them to Bozzuto where we can show the world what beautiful things can happen when people of diverse opinion, gender, race, sexual orientation and background come together.”

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