Who We Are
Laurence J. Richards
Larry is a seasoned construction professional experienced in government, residential, commercial, education and public utility construction. He was formerly the Chief Operating Officer of the Virgin Islands Asphalt Products Corporation (VIAPCO) and prior to that he was the Senior Project Manager for Business Development and Operations for GEC, LLC.
His professional experience also includes service as a commissioned officer in the Civil Engineer Corps of the United States Navy, where he managed $100 million of construction projects ranging from small-scale residential renovations of barracks and offices to large-scale industrial new construction (e.g.,supercomputer facility and aircraft hangars). After his naval career, Mr. Richards entered the private sector as a Construction Bond Program Manager for Del Terra Construction Group, where he oversaw over $43 million of public school renovation projects on 21 campuses. Subsequently, he became Vice President of Real Estate Development for Century Housing Corporation, responsible for the design and entitlement of multi-family residential complexes, such as the Villages at Cabrillo in Long Beach, California.
In 2007 he moved back to St. Croix and joined Stanford Caribbean Investments as Managing Director of Construction and Development until 2008 when he joined GEC. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering (BSCE) from Auburn University in 1993; a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering from the University of Maryland College Park in 1998; and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Southern California in 2003. He is a licensed Civil Engineer in the U.S. Virgin Islands and California, and he has also been a warranted contracting officer with the U.S. Government.
Peter R. Ross
Peter has over 30 years of experience planning, building, managing and owning real estate development, management and construction companies. He helped master plan 4.000 acres for the Carambola Renaissance Resort and Golf Club on St. Croix, U.S.V.I. for George Jacobus, owner/founder of Fairfield Communities. His other resort projects include Port de Plaissance, St. Maarten, Westin, St. John, Diamond Keturah Resort, St. Croix and Cormorant Beach Club, St. Croix. Peter also planned, built, managed and owned the Kings Alley Hotel and Kings Alley Walk shopping arcade in Christiansted, St. Croix. He has built over 225 individual homes, banks, restaurants, apartment buildings, sub-divisions, PV solar arrays and sophisticated infrastructure in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Peter is also a co-founder of Seaborne Airlines, the largest seaplane operation in the Caribbean.
In addition to all his other accomplishments, Peter spent 6 years as a successful Project Director and consultant for Lend Lease America. He managed 2 large military housing complexes at Tri-Command, Beaufort, S.C., 1,800 homes on 3 Marine Bases and the 2,500 home Knox Hills, on Ft.Knox, KY. Peter has overseen day to day property management, maintenance and construction retro-fitting of over 1,200 legacy homes, 600 new energy efficient homes, 4 community centers, over 30 playgrounds and related infrastructure. He has significantly reduced energy consumption on both installations, with innovative, cutting edge technology, such as energy efficient appliances, PV solar arrays, hydrothermal heat pumps, increased insulation, low flow toilets and more efficient doors and windows.
Peter recently completed a 4 month economic analysis of operations at 5 Lend Lease military housing projects, including Camp Lejeune, NC. Ross and ACC made significant recommendations on improving operations and reducing operating costs. He is also a past President of the St. Croix Hotel & Tourism Association.