The Story Begins

(2003 – 2005)

The Quality Design & Remodel (formerly known as Quality PM, Inc.) story begins with one man, Gregg Biche. Before becoming a leader in the Capital Region’s Remodeling Industry, Gregg started his journey in property management in 1998. He was a motivated 22-year-old who earned his stripes maintaining apartments in the Albany area. After a couple of years, he went on to work for a company that was a subcontractor for Coldwell Banker Prime Properties in 2000. Gregg wasn’t working directly for CBPP, but he did work closely with some of their personnel. Those working relationships were invaluable, and he found lifelong mentors in Maggie Kiesow and Diane Carrk. They helped him gain decades of property management experience and wisdom in just a few short years. And sooner than he could’ve dreamed, Gregg was ready to start his own property management business. And on August 28^th, 2003, Gregg founded Quality PM, Inc (QPM).

On day one, QPM was a property management company that managed and maintained other people’s properties. And the first few years were tough. But Gregg and his first employee, John Giovannetti Jr. (still a big part of QPM), made do with lots of hard work. They were regularly working 100-hour weeks, operating out of a storage unit, and doing things like driving 50+ miles to mow a lawn. They knew that the hard work was going to pay off. Because by living and breathing their work, Gregg saw an opportunity to take the business to the next level. He realized that many homes and commercial buildings he managed needed constant updating and remodeling, but no one was doing it. So, QPM pivoted. Rather than just focusing on management and maintenance, they began to incorporate remodeling into the business model.

Time to Pivot

(2006 – 2010)

By 2006, QPM was a well-established property management business with a knack for remodeling. But Gregg wanted to flip those roles. To do this, Gregg joined the Capital Region Builders and Remodelers Association (CRBRA) and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Joining these organizations introduced QPM to peers in the remodeling industry and access to valuable resources.

In 2007, QPM needed to gain experience in new construction. Because, at the time, to be considered a true “player in the industry,” you had to do new construction to be taken seriously. Even though new construction was not (and still isn’t) QPM’s main focus, doing it worked in three significant ways. It gave QPM insight into the industry (that they could never have gained otherwise). It helped them make a name for themselves as a remodeler. And it was a revenue stream that boosted the business considerably.

By the end of 2008, business was at an all-time high, and Gregg saw an opportunity to start buying properties. Given that it was the beginning of the Subprime Mortgage Crisis, you’d think this would be a catastrophic decision. It wasn’t. Gregg knew that by buying properties, QPM could take advantage of the lower housing prices and available skilled labor that the recession created.

“I’ve never bought a nice property in my life.” You can consider this quote from Gregg as a summation of QPM’s strategy for buying properties then and now. It’s a little cheeky but surprisingly effective, coming from a dual property management and remodeling business, because it enabled QPM to play both sides of the industry. They wouldn’t have to rely on other people’s properties for management or remodeling work. They could buy buildings that weren’t pretty, give them a complete makeover, and choose whether to hold onto or sell them. This business decision opened a considerable source of revenue for QPM. The success found amid the Great Recession springboarded QPM’s future and was the catalyst for what was to come in the 2010s.

Becoming Quality

(2011 – 2015)

The early 2010s saw a shift in the type of remodeling projects the company took on. With nearly a decade of remodeling experience, QPM could now be more selective and start the journey from a remodeler to a fine home remodeler. Exterior projects were replaced with more kitchens and baths. Smaller handyman-style projects were turned down in favor of larger-scope projects. Between 2010 and 2014, QPM saw very consistent growth after making this change. Soon it was about to become exponential.

By 2015, QPM was considered one of the top remodelers in the Capital Region. With that recognition came more and more large-scale projects, which meant more and more vendors, suppliers, and moving pieces to the remodeling puzzle. Gregg’s solution was ensuring QPM could handle more of the remodeling process in-house without relying on outside partners. Which meant it was time for QPM to have a proper office finally.

After moving from a house to a storage unit to a warehouse, QPM opened its first office in 2015. It was an old Doctor’s office at 199 Delaware Avenue in Delmar. To say the building needed work was putting it lightly. So, to make it more suitable for QPM, the first of three major remodels went underway. The first remodel created a small office (with a prototype design center) and two apartments. The decision to build apartments was Gregg’s. He had two good reasons. The first was that he knew QPM would continue to grow but couldn’t justify using all the space in the new building yet. Secondly, Gregg was born and raised in Delmar and saw that it was becoming one of the most popular suburbs of Albany. But it lacked apartment living options. To help this, he added these apartments to the new building.

Taking the Lead

(2016 – 2021)

QPM further diversified its business in 2016-17 by constructing a new apartment building at 225 Delaware Avenue, a new commercial retail building at 308 Delaware Avenue, and purchasing some vacation rental properties in Bolton Landing. The new construction projects fell right in line with QPM’s business model, and in a roundabout way, so did the vacation rentals. Since childhood, Gregg and his family would vacation in Lake George. They loved it there. And now, as an adult, he saw the same business opportunity in Bolton Landing that he did for QPM back in the early years. Most of the vacation rentals in Bolton Landing were in need of a remodel. Gregg took this challenge head-on. QPM now has three vacation rentals with plans for more in future.

At the end of 2017, QPM was in the business of home remodels, home sales, new construction, apartment rentals, vacation rentals, and commercial property management. All these ventures were and still are successful, but they started to cloud the brand of QPM and what the core business was… remodeling. That needed to change. Because by 2020, QPM had earned some of the biggest honors a remodeler can get in the Capital Region. Two Remodeler of the Year Awards, a Builder of the Year Award, a Best Kitchen Remodel Award, and a Best Bathroom Remodel Award. QPM was legitimately one of the top remodelers in the Capital Region, but its business name didn’t necessarily represent that. It was confusing for people to see “Quality PM, Inc.” and know it was a remodeling company. This marked the start of rebranding talks, but that would have to wait for now.

For the second time in QPM’s history, the world was thrown into chaos, this time by a pandemic. The COVID-19 Pandemic brought much uncertainty to QPM and the remodeling industry. QPM had never experienced anything like that. Labor shortages, supply chain issues, and travel regulations shook up everything. Early on, QPM had no clue what to expect, but fortunately, the remodeling industry was able to thrive. COVID-19 forced people to spend more time at home, and remote work became normalized. Homeowners spent more time in their homes than they ever had before. This new way of life made them see that their homes may not be what they wanted. It was time to remodel.

Through each year of the pandemic, QPM had sequentially profitable years. The whole remodeling industry did. But what was most definitive during this time was the milestone that marked the transition of Gregg being just a part of the industry to a leader. In 2020, Gregg was voted president of the CRBRA. There were many reasons for this honor, but one stood out most. Gregg’s philosophy of always pushing forward, staying the course, and producing only quality made his peers (some of whom have been in the remodeling industry for nearly a century) look to him for guidance.

‘Design & Remodel’ the Future

(2022 – Present)

With the remodeling business booming in the early 2020s, QPM purchased one of the largest commercial buildings in Delmar (Main Square) and completed its office’s second and third remodels. The second remodel removed one of the apartments to accommodate more offices and a larger Design Center. A larger Design Center allowed the QPM design team to host clients onsite to review the plans and selections for their remodel. The third remodel removed the last of the apartments in favor of more offices. And the Design Center was redone from the ground up to represent a model kitchen that could showcase more selections and technologies. QPM was now considered a designer in addition to being a remodeler.

QPM has led an impressive journey from its founding in 2003. They are no longer just a small property management company, they are now an award-winning design and remodeling firm. So after 20 years in business, on February 5th, 2024, Quality PM, Inc. will separate* its home remodeling business and create a new entity called Quality Design & Remodel. This rebrand will define them as the Capital Region’s premier design and remodel firm. Which ultimately means, more people will be coming home to quality.

*Quality PM, Inc. still exists as the parent company of Quality Design & Remodel. QPM now focuses solely on property management, while QDR handles home remodeling.