September 30, 2020

We are pleased to welcome Jon Foltz, our new construction project engineer, to Epstein’s DesignBuild group! Some of his core responsibilities include assisting in all aspects of the bidding process, coordinating subcontractor documents, such as submittals and RFI’s, and assuring project costs and schedules are being maintained throughout.

For the last 2+ years, Jon has been at Morgan Harbor Construction as an assistant project manager working out of the downtown division. There, he worked on numerous commercial interior build-out and renovation projects throughout the downtown area, along with a handful of ground-up projects in the surrounding Chicago land area. He was also able to advance into project manager responsibilities on several projects after successfully managing a fast-paced package of projects within the Crain’s Communications building, which is the Epstein-designed diamond-shaped iconic building located adjacent to Grant Park.

Of what led Jon to pursue this industry, he credits his dad for helping him develop an interest in construction at a young age. “It was exciting for me to watch and help him remodel our first home, do various renovations, and flip houses around town. When I was older, he also helped me get a summer job with a local construction company building residential homes around the area, which was a great experience. The design, attention-to-detail, and coordination that goes into a construction project really engages me. Nothing seems to give me more of a sense of accomplishment than seeing a project come full-circle from start to finish. It’s always an excellent moment when you turn over a successfully carried-out project to a happy client.”

Jon attended college at Western Illinois University in Macomb, where he received a B.S. in construction management. While their athletic teams go by the name “Leathernecks,” the official school mascot is Rocky the Bulldog. Rocky attends all the football games and gets his fair share of selfies with the students on campus. While in school, Jon enjoyed playing a little intramural dodgeball and volleyball with friends. He was also a part of the Western Illinois Construction Management Association (WICMA), where they regularly toured construction projects for career development. It even helped him land a job building sets for the campus theater productions.

Jon grew up in Thomson, Illinois, a small town along the Mississippi River about three hours west of the Chicago area. Having been consolidated with two other area schools, he attended West Carroll High School, which is located one town over in Savanna.

Outside of work, Jon enjoys getting together with his friends and family to go explore new restaurants and venues around the city. He’s fairly outdoorsy and really loves being on the water. He likes being able to take advantage of the lake for swimming, kayaking, paddle boarding and boating. When he’s not feeling so outdoorsy, he can probably be found either trying out a new recipe or finding some new movies to watch. In more recent years, he’s also developed a greater interest in traveling. He’s currently practicing to learn German, as he traveled to Germany last year for the first time and is hoping to get back there soon.

Oh, Jon has also hiked the Alps, Cascade, and Appalachian mountain ranges, and he’s looking to add more to the list.

What should the Epstein family know about Jon? He is a very dependable and driven person, willing to help out in any way necessary to ensure the success of our team and the projects we take on. “I love that Epstein holds value in sustainable construction. I’m always interested in furthering my education and look forward to pursuing my LEED AP credentials.”

Once again, welcome! We’re delighted to have you, Jon.