Upscale Construction has built its reputation on a simple idea: the best general contractors are the ones who stay flexible, listen carefully, and treat every project as if they were the owner. Based in New Haven, Connecticut, the company focuses on construction management and general contracting for commercial projects, with a strong foothold in adaptive reuse, tenant fit-outs, amenity upgrades, and retail and restaurant build-outs. In a region crowded with contractors, Upscale has differentiated itself through transparency, relationship-building, and a willingness to rethink traditional workflows.
From the start, Upscale’s founders made intentional decisions about how they wanted the business to run. Co-founder Avraham Mehl says the company’s biggest advantage is its ability to take on a wide variety of project types without being constrained by in-house trades. “Typically, it’s apartments, but anything that our client would want, we could technically do,” he says. The firm handles office build-outs, adaptive reuse of aging buildings, retail conversions, and complex amenity spaces. Crucially, none of the construction work is self-performed; every trade is subcontracted to allow management staff to focus solely on coordination, schedule, cost, and quality control.
This model is not where the company began. When Upscale was founded in 2018, it operated with nearly 200 employees. That experience changed their view of what a modern GC should look like. “We used to have almost 200 employees on our payroll,” Avraham explains. “We found that we were more in the babysitting business than managing construction, making sure quality and timelines are kept. The second we realized that, we pivoted and decided we’re going to sub out all our trades. Now we can actually focus on quality and pushing the project forward, rather than making sure people are showing up to work.” By restructuring the business, Upscale freed itself from the limitations of a fixed labour force and could partner with trusted subcontractors statewide.
The company’s beginnings go back to the founders’ experience working for a developer that owned more than 5,000 residential apartments. Those years provided deep exposure to every stage of asset development and management. “We gained a lot of our experience during those days,” Avraham says. When he and co-founder David Marasow decided to start their own company, they brought with them the mindset of owners rather than traditional contractors. Their early commercial work focused on multifamily renovations, shared amenities, and common areas before they expanded into development projects themselves — an experience the team describes as challenging but transformative.
With that background, Upscale has built a strong consulting role into its service offering. Rather than just estimating and executing, the company is often brought in at the conceptual stage to help developers translate ideas into cost-effective, durable solutions. Chaz Koch, who works in sales and business development, describes it as a key differentiator. “I would say that our sweet spot is coming into a project early on and being more of a consultant, walking the developer or the builder through their vision and helping them bring that to life in a way that’s cost effective, but also helps the project to stand out,” he says. “One of the things that excites us is that we’re young and flexible and we’re excited to try funky and new projects, so throw it our way and see what happens.”
Their development experience makes them especially cautious about long-term building performance. Avraham explains, “We understand the economics of the project. This is why we like getting involved so early on in the design phase. The architects and designers like throwing in things that are very nice but are not cost-effective, and practically not a great solution for the building long term. So we come in, and because of our experience as owners and managers, say, ‘This might not be the best idea, and don’t spend your money on this, it’s not going to give you back your dollars in rent.’” That owner-mindset informs every recommendation they make.
For David, honesty and clarity remain non-negotiable principles. “I think what led to this whole thing was that we had many trade partners. We always felt that there were a lot of contractors in the space, but nobody was very honest and very easy to work with. We always thought one day we’re going to be honest people and we’re not going to have a lot of competition,” he says. “One of the things that keeps our edge is that we’re looking at a project as if it’s our money; we know what it feels like to be on the other side of the table. We almost have no competition. We always said that honesty and integrity are the number one thing that keeps our company moving.”
“We always said that honesty and integrity are the number one thing that keeps our company moving.”
Alongside client-focused services, Upscale also owns and manages a portfolio of retail, industrial, and residential properties across Connecticut. That ownership background influences the firm’s approach to advising developers, especially when balancing capital expenditure against long-term performance.
Recent projects highlight the range and complexity of the company’s work. Upscale recently completed a retail space and full café build-out, and also delivered the HVAC overhaul of an office complex where the owners approached the team with a fixed budget and asked them to find a way to make the numbers work. The firm brought in its trade partners and worked through multiple options to identify a strategy that could deliver the scope safely and cost-effectively; a demonstration of the consultant-builder hybrid approach they take pride in.
Adaptive reuse has become another strong niche for the company. South Windsor Manor, completed a few months ago, is one of three closed nursing homes the firm helped transform after the buildings sat vacant for nearly a decade. Upscale partnered with the developer to demolish the entire interior and convert the property into a new high-end senior living facility. David describes one of the project’s main challenges: “We wanted to maximize the units and minimize the common area. The building is built like a big square with a hole in the middle for a garden, and instead of creating a big hallway down the middle, which would essentially kill a lot of rentable square footage, we created a road around the property so everybody had their own designated access from the outside.”
The company also converted a former nursing home into Alexandria Manor. The project began before COVID-19, which created significant delays. “When COVID hit, everything went totally haywire,” David says. “It really threw the whole project sideways. It took us a bit longer because we had to shut down for about 3–4 months during COVID, and then it took forever to get the materials. We were waiting for 18 months for it to arrive, so adapting to that was interesting, but we completed it.” The building is now at full occupancy, and the team considers it one of their proudest achievements.
Time-sensitive work has also become a hallmark. One recent contract (Splash Car Wash headquarters) required Upscale to build a 10,000-square-foot office space from a shell in just 60 days. “A lot of the trades came to us and said you can’t do this in 60 days,” David recalls. “We said, ‘OK, let’s figure out how.’ We really like those types of learning experiences where you finish, and you’re like, ‘we actually pulled it off, and everyone said no.’”
Another recent success is an office complex at Pent Park, a five-building property now updated with a modern lobby, amenity spaces, a gym, a games room, a cafeteria, and saunas. The building currently sits at 80% occupancy, with the enhancements helping to drive lease-up.
As 2026 approaches, Upscale plans to lean even further into office amenity upgrades and common-area refreshes. With many office buildings sitting partially vacant, Avraham believes the path forward is strategic investment. “The way to fill them up is to put in the money and make the building stand out from the rest,” he says. In that spirit, Upscale has already begun ordering materials and preparing for a full renovation of the clubhouse at The Pavilions in Manchester, CT, the largest apartment complex in the state, as part of its continued push to elevate and modernize high-density communities.
Growth remains a priority for the company, but not at the expense of its values. David explains, “We are looking forward to 2026. We have a couple of interesting projects in the pipeline, but more importantly, it’s about the growth of the team and learning how to position ourselves to take on much bigger and better projects and more clients.”
Through all the expansion, Upscale remains grounded in the principles it was built on: transparency, care for the client’s budget, and a long-term view of every project. “People want to see a job moving fast with someone who cares just as much as them,” David says. It is that alignment with clients, partners, and the buildings themselves, that continues to set the firm apart.
