SALISBURY - For a nuclear engineer who builds bridges for a living, one might think expanding a simple office building would seem relatively boring.
Nothing could be further from the truth when it came to Wayne Capolupo’s expansion of the SPS New England headquarters on Elm Street in Salisbury.
The $1 million, 8,700-square-foot building may look like a normal three-story Federalist-style office building, but it’s really a state-of-the-art design that does more than look good — it’s one of the most energy-efficient buildings in the region.
But it’s also worker-friendly by design, with wide hallways, an elevator, spacious offices, conference rooms, up-to-the-minute computer and communications technology, and kitchen and shower facilities. There’s even a continuous slide show in the waiting room to remind the Capolupo family of all the bridges they have built, repaired and rehabilitated together since they started the business in 1984.
Ever since then, Capolupo’s enterprises have continued to grow and diversify. Today, many locally know Capolupo as much for his real estate dealings and work to promote Salisbury Beach as they do for his work building bridges across the state.
Capolupo, a graduate of Triton Regional High School who came from humble beginnings, has remained true to his roots.
SPS New England is the first, but just one, of the SPS Companies started and operated as the family businesses of the five Capolupo siblings: Wayne, Richard, Philip and Steven Capolupo and Karen Capolupo Chandler.
Wayne Capolupo said although the family started out in East Boston, his father moved them to the area when they were children. Initially settling in Newbury, Salisbury has been home — and the place where family roots run deep — for decades, he said.
It’s where they started their businesses together, in construction and development related activities, and it’s where they plan to stay.
Starting small
First came SPS New England, Capolupo said, but when starting, it wasn’t the heavy construction bridge and road building entity it is today with 250 total employees both at headquarters and in the field. At the beginning, it was the Capolupos in the overalls and construction boots.
“At first we took on small concrete projects,” Capolupo said. “Things like retaining walls. We grew about 10 to 15 percent every year. About 15 years ago, our major focus became bridges.”
Since then, the company has successfully handled many multimillion dollar projects — like the $44 million Interstate 495 interchange on Marston Street in Lawrence.
“It may have seemed like a long time to some of people who live there,” he said of the Marston Street interchange, “but we finished a year early.”
But as big as some of the more recent projects get, Capolupo recalled sending in the first million-dollar bridge project bid SPS New England won and completed.
“It was a contract to repair three bridges on 495 in Merrimac,” he said. “The bid was $1,050,000.”
With success came a broadening of the family’s business ventures — into real estate development and also in the revitalization of Salisbury’s deteriorated beach center.
Capolupo has helped with a number of community efforts as well, like the Town Hall Rehabilitation Committee and the emergency repair of the railroad dyke over Town Creek that flooded Bridge Road when it crumbled during the Patriots Day storm.
“We were here. It’s our specialty, and the town asked us for help,” Capolupo said. “We were able to mobilize immediately, but in the bridge-repair industry, we’re often called upon to mobilize immediately. It was nice to be able to help the town.”
Heart in his hometown
Bridges may be how he earns his daily bread, but Capolupo’s eyes brighten considerably when discussing Salisbury Beach and his memories growing up there.
The passion to revitalize the deteriorated center has resulted in him taking a lead role in the center’s rebirth. He had a large role in rezoning the area, and he lobbies state officials regularly on behalf of building a boardwalk along Salisbury Beach. Currently before town officials is his multi-building development project for a commercial/residential complex along the beachfront, with a spectacular decked pavilion and luxury condos.
Capolupo said he’s very excited about the Thompson Group — the redevelopment experts behind the revival of Quincy Market — and its interest in helping with the rebirth of Salisbury Beach. He plans to keep in close contact with the company in order to ensure his project blends with the Thompson Group’s vision.
The organization of the recently renamed Salisbury Beach Partnership, which has a mission of promoting Salisbury Beach, is another of Capolupo’s missions. He’s even set aside an office for the organization in his new building.
“The Salisbury Chamber of Commerce has to take care of all businesses in Salisbury,” Capolupo said. “We can focus only on the beach.”
Last year’s Sand and Sea Festival was a project of the Partnership, and that festival, as well as the Salisbury Maritime Festival featuring historic sailing ships, is being planned for this summer as well.
With everything going on, will another building expansion be necessary soon?
“We can’t expand on this lot; we’ve spread out and gone up as high as we can,” Capolupo said. “If we have to get bigger, it will have to be on another site. But it will in Salisbury. We’re dug in right here in Salisbury.”
Energy star
Wayne Capolupo not only has a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering, but also a master’s in energy engineering. His new headquarters on Route 110 in Salisbury is decked out with some of the most modern energy efficiencies available. Some of the amenities are:
Double-glazed Low-E windows
Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning units with a 90 percent efficiency rating
Originally published in The Daily News of Newburyport, MA
Written
by Angeljean Chiaramida, Staff writer
The SPS Companies Since 1984, SPS New England, Inc. has been helping to shape New England’s landscape. Wherever you drive throughout Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire, there's a good chance you will travel down a road or over a bridge built by SPS New England.
SALISBURY - For a nuclear engineer who builds bridges for a living, one might think expanding a simple office building would seem relatively boring. 