- Owner: UPWARD PROJECTS
- Architect: SHEPLEY BULFINCH
- Size: 3,400 SF
- Location: GILBERT, ARIZONA
- Delivery Method: Negotiated
- Construction Type: Adaptive Reuse, Interior Renovation
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Joyride-Patio
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Joyride Taco House
An ultimate numbers nerd, Russon has been in charge of preconstruction services and estimating for hardison/downey construction in Phoenix for more than 10 years. He oversees a team of five estimators in h/d’s preconstruction department, who are responsible for up front work on projects in both the Commercial and Housing divisions.
A native of Idaho, Russon attended Boise State University for his undergrad work. He obtained his Masters in Construction Management at Arizona State University, and has been a member of the Kitchell family since 1998.
Russon has been married to his wife Melanie since 1992 and they are the parents of three boys. In his spare time, he enjoys traveling and the great outdoors.
A native of Nevada, Greg moved to Arizona in 2006 to start up and direct a mechanical division that he managed until 2014. Before joining hardison/downey, he served many years in general contracting and subcontracting of multi-family, commercial, hospitality, military, renovation and single family projects throughout the country. Greg has diverse project experience and a reputation for quality-engineered systems through prefabricated offsite manufacturing and a focus on constructability. Since joining the h/d team, Greg has been dedicated to developing the Service Group and Self-Perform Work Teams.
Greg holds a Bachelor of Applied Science Degree in Operations Management Technology from the Polytechnic School at Arizona State University, is a licensed Master Plumber in numerous states, and a certified NCCER Craft Instructor and Proctor.
Greg has been married to his wife, Kara, for 21 years and is the father of three wonderful children, as well as a grandfather. He and his wife enjoy camping, mountain biking and traveling to visit their family.
Keith is a graduate of Northern Arizona University with more than 26 years of construction experience in both the commercial and housing markets. He started his career as a tradesman doing wet utility work and plumbing, which led to him starting his own plumbing firm upon graduating from college. Combining his knowledge from his education with his on-the-job experience made the transition into general contracting easy. He and a partner headed up a thriving business building speculative housing through the downturn in 2009, despite the dismal marketplace. His last stop prior to joining h/d was with a larger developer, aiding in their growth during a booming market place. Keith came to hardison/downey in late 2019 to head up the Civil Group. His combination of trade knowledge, business development, and developer experience continues to help establish, fortify and grow h/d’s Civil Group to bring diversity and further strengthen the company.
Keith is the father of four and has been married to his wife, Kristin, for 24 years. Together, his family enjoys hunting, fishing, playing sports, and anything outdoors. On indoor days, you will usually find them watching sports and driving each other crazy as a family.
Jim is a native of Ohio and obtained his BS in Construction Technology from Bowling Green State University. He began his career working for two different multi-family developer/builders in Phoenix – four years at Butterfield Magnum, followed by 13 years at Butte Properties – before hardison/downey purchased the construction arm of Butte in 2000.
As Director of Housing, Jim oversees all multi-family, student housing and assisted living project teams in both the preconstruction and construction phases. He is directly responsible for the overall project schedule, budget, safety and quality control for each of these projects. Throughout his career, Jim has been responsible for the construction of more than 4,500 units of multi-family product, as well as 7,500+ beds of student housing.
Jim has been married to his wife Pam for 32 years, and together they have an adult daughter, Taylor. In his spare time, he enjoys family time with his grandson and trips to the mountains.
Heather is a 24-year industry professional and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Construction Management from the Del E. Webb School of Construction at Arizona State University. She joined the Kitchell family in January 2004 for Kitchell Custom Homes, working on notable projects such as Valley Ho Condos and The Mountain Project. An opportunity arose in late 2006 for Heather to begin her own contracting firm, which she successfully operated through 2015. However, her desire was strong to get back to her roots and build more complex and custom projects; therefore she returned to the Kitchell family in 2015. Since her return, she has been focused on key legacy clients for hardison/downey. Marin oversaw the successful completion of fourteen vertical structures across the expanse of a Private Golf development in north Scottsdale over three years, in addition to overseeing the development of the newly-formed self-perform Civil Group for hardison/downey.
Heather has been married to her husband Robert for 18 years and are parents of two wonderful daughters. They enjoy camping, spending time on the river, movie watching and continual projects around the house – ultimately anything they can do as a family.
Curt graduated Vanderbilt University with a degree in Electrical Engineering and Mathematics. A native of California, Curt lived in several places in the South and Midwest before finally settling in Arizona in 2003. Curt ran a successful TI and technology infrastructure firm in Mesa, AZ before joining hardison/downey in 2021.
As Director of Commercial, Curt is responsible for all the entire h/d portfolio of commercial construction including everything from industrial shells and tenant improvements to school campus buildings and parking garages.
Curt and his wife Heather have been married since 1999 and have 5 children—4 boys and a girl. In his free time, Curt enjoys traveling, golf, and attending his kids’ sporting events.
A graduate of Northern Arizona University (NAU), Justin joins hardison/downey with 20 years of construction experience. He has a diverse project background ranging from alternative energy and public works to criminal justice and high-end residential projects, located throughout the country. Justin has tremendous industry knowledge and insight, as well as marketing, sales, construction and operational experience.
Along with being a graduate of the Arizona Builders Alliance Advanced Leadership Development Program, Justin also serves on the NAU Student Advisory Board and has previously served on the Executive Board of the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters and the Federal Affairs Committee of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce.
Justin is a father of six and has been married to his wife, Kris, for seven years. In their free time together, they enjoy watching their children participate in sports and cheer/dance, as well as a good pick-up game of football, wiffle ball or basketball.
Lisa was born and raised in Iowa. She obtained her degree in Marketing from the University of Northern Iowa, where she was also a Division I tennis player for the Panthers. She moved to Arizona after graduation and has been with hardison/downey since 2003.
At h/d, her focus is on developing and maintaining client, architect and trade partner relationships for the company; seeking out new project opportunities; and working closely with the marketing team on project proposals. A big proponent of corporate philanthropy, Lisa co-founded Build FORE Good, hardison/downey & Kitchell’s annual charity golf tournament, which has raised more than $800,000 since 2013 for local Arizona charities. She is a former Advisory Board member for NorthBridge, a program helping students with learning differences transition from high school to college or vocational school. And in 2019, she was named one of AZRE’s “Most Influential Women in Arizona”.
Lisa has been married to her husband, Memo, for 11 years and they have a 6-year old son, Beckett. In her spare time, Lisa still enjoys semi-competitive tennis, digging in to a good true crime novel, cheering on (and crying over!) her beloved Minnesota Vikings, and taking her son on as many new adventures as possible.