We recently completed a kitchen/bath renovation with Doug at Cornerstone of Larchmont. We had an…read moreexcellent experience and highly recommend. Previously, I had worked with another local contractor who ended up being financially shifty, unreliable, and dishonest. So I know firsthand how upsetting and costly it can be to hire the wrong person for something as important as the home you live in. What we loved most about Doug was his genuine care for you, your family, and your project. Instead of feeling constantly at odds with someone, Doug felt like a partner. He was always reachable and transparent. His kept lines of communication open and we felt any issues with construction and costs were addressed clearly and honestly. We also cannot say enough good things about his staff and his sub-contractors. They were timely, clean, and respectful of your space. Cornerstone's workmanship is top notch and we highly recommend!

From the owner: Our highly skilled craftsmen and flexible project management structure allow us to meet project…read moredeadlines, stay within budget and provide our clients with superior products and services. We are a fully licensed and insured general contractor. We distinguish ourselves from many of our competitors by vetting our workforce using strict guidelines in compliance with all legal hiring requirements. Our accountability and attention to detail are always part of our design. We are happy to work with you to develop plans, build directly from plans that you provide, or collaborate with you to better personalize your existing plans. As illustrated in a 2004 NY Times article featuring our work, we have been providing environmentally-friendly products and practices since our inception. We have met and exceeded our clients' expectations with solutions that satisfy all budgets.

Jim consulted with me several times on my gut renovation project and provided expert advice. He…read morebrings expertise from two decades of experience to the table, and also his work is of impeccable quality. I saw a passive house he was gut renovating in Park Slope, and it was absolutely stunning! Jim knows how to preserve historic details while bringing the design into the modern era in a tasteful, classic way. He exudes calmness and wisdom and is a pleasure to be around. Full disclosure in that I ultimately had to choose a less experienced architect because Jim's fee, although completely reasonable given his level of skill and expertise, was a bit out of our price range.

Jim was great to work with. We did a semi-gut renovation in 3 bedroom/2 bathroom apt. The quality…read moreof his work and suggestions were exactly what we wanted based on my husband and my feedback. Jim is very detailed and each week during renovation, we had him manage the project with the contractor to ensure the final output was done properly. Most Manhattan apartments are not symmetrical, so the early stage on doing things a certain way goes a long way on the final look. He understands plumbing, and electrical well to communicate to our contractors. He referred us to a HVAC engineer. When it came to interior design, we had Sarah who provided feedback and suppliers information. She was also very helpful. Jim knows the DOB process well and helped us resolved many issues even during covid and DOB rule changed in 2020 and 2021. We also had him manage the project with the contractors. The contractors don't have the same design eyes and were a bit sloppy and forgetful so it was imperative to have Jim help us. Urban charges by the hour and provided an accurate estimate of the cost. Make sure what projects he's working on so he can allocate time properly. In the beginning with the design drawing schematic, it took a while cause he was on a couple of brownstone projects but overall still have a very positive experience with Jim. He was responsive.

Steve helped me to get a 19-year old outstanding DOB permit approved for an apartment in a landmark…read morebuilding. This wasn't a creative project for an architect. Actually I am sure it was very painful to deal with all the red tapes. During those 4 months, he even contacted me in the after hours to give me the progress. Thank you.

My answer to your response is - I guess you never worked with an expeditor. I never asked you to…read morepull permits yourself. ---------- Where do I begin? This architect is disgustingly unprofessional and more importantly, a bad person. He was 15 minutes late to our meeting, walked in while I was speaking to his co workers, Jasmine and Dong, and was completely dismissive about the entire meeting. When I started to ask him about the next steps to move forward, like how to pull permits and the pricing for the design, he completely FLIPPED out telling me why would he pull permits when that's the contractor's job? I was a bit taken aback since my previous architect pulled permits alongside my contractor. He then started to allege that I use unlicensed contractors. I started to wonder what he was getting at and why he was being such a rude jerk. He then had the nerve to pull out the BIS gov website and ask me about the contractor I used and the address. When I tried to tell him the architect firm, he got very angry and said why would I care about the architect? HELLO! You asked who pulled the permits! He found my previous project and everything was up to code. This guy is disgusting. There is NP way he's a legit architect because he doesn't have any skills on how to speak to clients. Stay away. You can find architects who pull permits alongside the contractors. This means he has very bad relationships with the DOB.