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family firm, built its reputation on the fine estate homes itconstructed along Long Island's Gold Coast. Its clients included theHuttons, Whitneys, Pratts, Guggenheims, Fairchilds and Conde Nasts. Today, Howell is one of the Island's largest construction companies, but it still crafts brackets, turns spindles, reproduces plaster moldings and otherwise renovates old buildings, including several New York City landmarks. Amid the schools, hospitals and office buildings to its credit is an 1890s mansion, a pair of Federal-style townhouses, and a row of stores at the South Street Seaport.
"People feel we have the expertise because of the houses we once built," said chief executive Jay Wheatley. "We have that heritage." Howell's renovation efforts typify the growing number of large construction companies that are moving into renovations - particularly commercial renovations. It is the latest turn in an evolution spurred by the 1981 federal tax act, which provided tax credits of up to 25 percent for upgrading old buildings.
Depending on the job, a renovation can cost up to one-third less than the typical new construction - about $100 a square foot in Manhattan.
More intricate work, particularly historic restorations, however, can exceed $200 a square...