Construction firm Falcon Pacific added a chief estimator to its team as New York City finds itself under transformation by a deluge of new commercial development.

Douglas Gandino will lead future project scoping for the New York-based Swig Equities-owned firm, which focuses on interior and exterior ground-up projects in the metropolitan area.

About 18.5 million square feet of new office space is being built in Manhattan as of the second quarter, according to CoStar data, compared to the same time last year when about 15.3 million square feet was underway. This year alone, CoStar has recorded nearly 4 million square feet in new construction starts, the highest figure since 2015. Since 2010, the market has seen 21 million square feet of office space delivered.

Gandino brings 38 years of experience in budgeting multimillion dollar infrastructure and development projects for the private sector and government clients.

Prior to joining Falcon Pacific, he had his own construction consulting practice. He has worked on medical, retail, corporate and hospitality projects for Ralph Lauren, Columbia University and New York University. In those projects, he led pricing and engineering, as well as the requests for proposals for subcontracted work.

Kent M. Swig, president of both Falcon Pacific Construction and its sister company, Falcon Pacific Builders, called Gandino’s career “impressive” in a statement.

“He earned his reputation over the last three decades as an interior and core shell estimator, and we look forward to working with him in the years ahead,” Falcon Pacific CEO Carl Schwartz and Chief Operating Officer Joe Caraciolo said in joint statement on Gandino’s hiring.