All About LivCo

Made with Purpose

Good construction requires smart design, and good design requires an understanding of construction. LivCo was created to streamline the process through a single-stop full integration of design and construction.

Custom Home Builder Chicago

One Company, One Team

Streamlined Process

Builders are not designers, and designers are not builders. Historically, the architect and builder have sat on opposite sides of the table, leaving the homeowner in the middle to communicate, interpret, and mediate. We are one company and one team working to solve your needs. We work on your behalf to deliver the space you have dreamed of within your budget, not just pretty drawings of something that is too expensive to build.

History By The Numbers

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Since its inception in 2012, LivCo has completed over 250 renovation projects and won numerous awards, including over twenty Remodeling Excellence Awards, Home of the Year Award, Contractor of the Year Award, and Houzz Best in Service seven years in a row. We have been inducted into the Remodeling Big50, and most recently Dave has been inducted into the 2018 Professional Remodelers 40 Under 40. The LivCo team is widely considered a thought leader in the design + build industry, and have been featured guests on numerous podcasts. In addition, LivCo Co-founder, Dave Pollard has been a featured author in articles for both JLC and Remodeling Magazine.

Home Remodeling Chicago

Tailored Solutions

Integrated Approach

LivCo makes inspiring spaces by effectively converting our creative designs to built solutions. We provide our clients with a unique, designed, and integrated approach to altering their homes. We design solutions specifically for our clients’ needs and lifestyles, and efficiently execute this intent through construction.

LivCo's mission is to improve the way people live by transforming spaces through curated design.

Our COre Values

Experts

WE KNOW AND PAY ATTENTION TO THE DETAILS: LivCo’s designs and projects are a collection of many vital details. Our clients and our success depend on these details.

Good People

WE COMMUNICATE CONSTANTLY Communication is the most important part of our business. Effective and timely communication with clients, vendors and most importantly ourselves, determines the success of every project.

Problem Solvers

WE SOLVE THE PROBLEM: We will fix the problems that we encounter and ask for help if we can’t solve it ourselves.

Team Players

WE ALWAYS FOLLOW THROUGH: Commit to the right path, commit to the timing and follow through to completion. WE WORK HARD AND PREPARE LIKE A PROFESSIONAL: We are a team: Like a professional sports team, not a kid’s recreational team.

Passionate

WE TAKE PRIDE IN THE QUALITY OF OUR WORK: Take pride in providing quality design & construction services that we can all stand behind. This ensures client satisfaction, profitability and the future growth of our employees and company.

Unique & Creative

WE ARE ARTISTS AND WE HAVE FUN: “A man who works with his hands is a laborer; a man who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman; but a man who works with his hands and his brain and his heart is an artist.” – Louis Nizer We need to enjoy our jobs and have fun doing them; or we won’t be very good at them.

Our Team

Here at LivCo, our team is made of design, construction, and remodeling professionals with a common thread of loving the art of building.

Dave Pollard architect and Co-founder of Liv Companies

Dave

Principal, Co-founder & Creative Director

Dave Pollard

Principal, Co-founder & Creative Director

As an IL and NC Licensed Architect and one of the founders of LivCo, Dave can almost always be found with a coffee cup in his hand or in his near vicinity. Growing up in Richmond, Virginia he was attracted to residential architecture from an early age as he sketched floor plans for fun and absorbed copious amounts of 80’s sitcoms. He stayed in Virginia to study Architecture and Building Construction at Virginia Tech, and moved to Chicago after receiving his bachelor’s degree. Dave worked for several leading design firms in Chicago, including Optima and Goettsch Partners, where he grew his architectural knowledge before branching out to become the director of design for a residential developer. Some of Dave’s other credentials include being a member of AIA, NCARB Certified, and a LEED Accredited Professional. He also holds a Master of Architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology and is a current board member for NARI Greater Chicago. Dave has 3 young kids and is a voracious hockey-Dad, often traveling with his twin sons’ team on the weekends. He is also a self-proclaimed Lego Master, but we believe him – wouldn’t you?

Russell Head Co-Founder of Liv Companies and Master Builder

Russ

Principal, Co-founder & Master of Building

Russ Head

Principal, Co-founder & Master of Building

Russ is half of the co-founding team at LivCo, and “Heads” up the construction and business side of things (sorry, are puns allowed?). In and around the office, Russ wears many hats which aren’t all related to his 33 years of homebuilding experience – Cubs fan club president, music appreciation professor, and meeting time-keeper. Russ is a Certified Graduate Builder (CGB), a Certified Green Professional (CGP), and a Certified Graduate Remodeler with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). He is also a Life Director on the board for NAHB and a current board member for the Southwest Suburban Home Builders Association. When he is not working, you might find Russ at a concert, skiing, golfing, or just spending time with family and friends. Ask him about his favorite concert (Grateful Dead ’88) or his backgammon skills. He has two grown sons, and lives near Joliet with his wife and dog in a house he built. And that coffee mug in the office microwave? It’s his.

Sara Parkes Project Designer and Licensed Architect

Sara

Director of Design, Architect & Project Visionary

Sara Parkes RA

Director of Design, Architect & Project Visionary

A Registered Architect, Sara joined the LivCo team in 2017 as a project designer and has enjoyed all aspects of the design process since then. Sara completed her Bachelor’s in Architectural Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and her Master of Architecture at Virginia Tech. Born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, she is a current city-dweller who enjoys time near the lake and the sound of garbage trucks at 5am. It should be noted that she hates playing the game Monopoly, and when she is forced to play, she hordes properties and refuses any trades. Feel free to ask her about hiking the Inca Trail for her honeymoon or her fear of squirrels. She also loves stand-up comedy, 70s punk music, Scandinavian design, and is missing part of one of her pinky fingers. She is married to an architect, and has two young kids.

Check out one of Sara’s favorite LivCo projects, a charming, fun, and functional home addition in Brookfield, here!

Scott Fridrych Project Manager

Scott

Director of Construction & Voice of Reason

Scott Fridrych NARI CR

Director of Construction & Voice of Reason

Scott has been with LivCo since 2019 but has been around the home-building and remodeling world since he was 14. The smart-aleck of the office – a title which he gave himself – he uses humor to deflect the daily challenges of overseeing our projects under construction. Outside of work, he enjoys mountain-biking, skiing, golfing, and woodworking. Scott holds a Bachelor’s in Construction Management and Associate’s degree in Architecture from Ferris State University, and is a NARI Certified Remodeler. He has lived in and around the western suburbs almost all his life and seems to have at least a second-degree connection to every person who comes into our office. Before LivCo, Scott worked for Pulte Homes and spent time as the owner of his own remodeling company. Ask him about his dream of owning a 1969 GTO Judge or his canoeing trip in the Boundary Waters of Canada. He is married with three kids, enjoys craft beer, bourbon, fine cigars, and is a grown adult who won’t eat a salad to save his life.

Learn more about one of Scott’s favorite LivCo projects, a charming second-story addition in Downer’s Grove, here!

Tom Head Site Manager

Tom

Site Manager & Master Problem Solver

Tom Head

Site Manager & Master Problem Solver

Tom, the second member of the Head family at LivCo, has been in the Chicagoland area all his life. As a skilled field manager, he serves as the bridge between all the people involved in making design projects a reality. Using his 44 years of experience in the remodeling industry, he tackles the day-to-day challenges of construction from demo to punch-walk. When not on the job site, you might find him on the golf course or camping. Tom has one daughter and is a hardcore fan of the Cubs and Blackhawks. A man of few words, Tom might be the most brilliant member of our team.

In 2023 Tom Celebrated TEN Years at LivCo and our team and clients are lucky to have him!

Anna Las Zurek Interior Designer

Anna

Lead Interior Designer & Director of Style

Anna Zurek

Lead Interior Designer & Director of Style

Anna joined the LivCo team in 2018 as our first Interior Designer. Although she is an expert in cabinetry, lighting, and plumbing fixtures, we also look to her as our walking encyclopedia on all things Polish. A proud Chicago native, she enjoys events that include her Polish highlander culture. Anna attended the Illinois Institute of Art in Chicago where she received her Bachelor’s in Fine Arts and worked for high-level interior design firms before arriving at LivCo. A couple fun things about Anna: she was a sprinter in a past life, she considers the cow to be her spirit animal, and hopes to one day experience diving at the Great Barrier Reef. She lives with her husband, dog, and two young kids in the Western Suburbs.

Learn more about one of Anna’s favorite LivCo projects, a beautiful cottage expansion in Downers Grove, here!

LuAnn Jenovai Administrative Manager at LivCo

LuAnn

Administrative Manager & Center of the LivCo Universe

LuAnn Jenovai

Administrative Manager & Center of the LivCo Universe

LuAnn has been with LivCo since 2016, joining Dave & Russ as the first in-office hire. She has been working in and around the construction industry for over 23 years and helps make sense of all the administrative tasks associated with keeping us running. As a native of Chicago’s south side, she is an avid White Sox fan, which almost put her place at LivCo in jeopardy. LuAnn loves gardening, dogs, clay shooting, and getting together with all 57 members of her family each Christmas. She is a loving and devoted grandma of 8 who has grown to be our office “mom” as well. In that role, she is in charge of telling Dave when he needs a haircut.

In 2021 LuAnn Celebrated FIVE Years at LivCo and our team and clients are lucky to have her!

Learn more about one of LuAnn’s favorite LivCo projects, this cozy and welcoming kitchen addition in Downer’s Grove, here!

Donald J Head Pre-Construction Manager

DJ

Pre-construction Manager & Director of Special Projects

DJ Head

Pre-construction Manager & Director of Special Projects

DJ is the youngest member of the Head family at LivCo. As our pre-construction manager, he is uniquely involved in every phase of each project – estimating, pricing, and closeout management – from start to finish. In his previous life, DJ worked as a union boom operator and location sound engineer on a variety of Chicago productions. In his spare time, he can be found outdoors, probably playing golf – disc golf – and participating in tournaments around the area. As a NARI Certified Project Manager, he enjoys working to find solutions as a team. Ask him about his ridiculously cute dog, MacReady, a Shiba/Jack Russel mix. Additionally, if you find yourself trying to read the logo for your favorite extreme metal band, he can help since he knows them all.

Denny Stenson Field Technician

Denny

Field Technician & Jack of Every Trade

Denny Stenson

Field Technician & Jack of Every Trade

As our field technician, Denny has the most hands-on experience at each of our job sites. Although he usually has the dirtiest jobs – ask him about his first day – he almost always has a smile on his face. Subsisting entirely on a diet of coffee, chocolate, and Diet Coke, Denny proudly claims to be able to do anything that has to do with a house. Before LivCo, he spent time in the trucking and maintenance industries, but has been working in the world of remodeling for 30 years. He is a proud father, grandpa (wait, what?!), and baker of famously delicious pecan and sweet potato pies. But we wouldn’t know anything about that last part because he still hasn’t brought any into the office.

In 2024 Denny will Celebrate TEN Years at LivCo and our team and clients are lucky to have him!

Project manager headshot wearing livco blue golf shirt

Rob

Project Manager & Expert Builder

Rob League

Project Manager & Expert Builder

Starting in 2023, Rob is our newest team member rounding out the production department, bringing 30 years of experience as a Master Carpenter. Originally from California, he’s spent lots of time on the West Coast and enjoys outdoor activities with his family. Surprisingly the only person to claim a “fox” as their spirit animal, Rob also admits to being a harsh landlord in the game of Monopoly. Ask him about his favorite places in Oregon, his status as a pinewood-derby car artist, or his favorite edition of the Residential Building Code (hint: 2015). Other fun facts about Rob?  He’s a car enthusiast, enjoys a good cheesecake, and loves Halloween. He lives in the Southwest suburbs with his wife, son, a couple pets, and is currently working on a degree in business.

Learn more about one of Rob’s favorite LivCo projects, a beautiful MCM Ranch Remodel in Riverside, IL here!

smiling female junior architect

Maddy

Junior Project Designer & Resident Go-Getter

Maddy Elder

Junior Project Designer & Resident Go-Getter

New to LivCo, and fairly new to the Chicagoland area, Maddy started as a summer intern in 2023. Soon after that, she completed her architecture degree from UIC and joined the team full-time as a Junior Project Designer. When she’s not answering our questions about what “young people are doing these days,” you can find her playing video games, hiking, or hanging out with friends. Ask her about her favorite vacation (Hawaii) or how long she’s been playing The Sims (over a decade!). She’s described herself as being a little wacky, which fits in just great with our quirky group. A Michigan native and animal lover, Maddy now lives on the Northside of the city with her boyfriend and cat.

Learn more about one of Maddy’s favorite LivCo projects, a charming Victorian Modernization in La Grange Park, IL here!

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Client Perspective

“From the very beginning, their design phase stood out—it was creative, thoughtful, and unlike anything we’d seen from other contractors. They really took the time to understand our home and our goals."

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Melissa Fanaro

Melissa F.

Clarendon Hills