Most Developers Step Back. Axis Does Not.
Most commercial developers hire a general contractor and step back. Paul Leongas built Axis Development Group LLC to work the other way. Through Axis, he self-performs construction, which means his team builds the projects he develops rather than handing them to an outside builder. That choice shapes how every project runs.
The Cost Argument
The first reason is cost. When a developer hires a general contractor, the price includes the contractor’s overhead and profit, plus a cushion for risk. Some of that is fair pay for real work. Some of it is money that leaves the project for no benefit to the owner. By keeping construction in house, Paul Leongas removes a layer of markup and keeps closer track of where each dollar goes. He can see a cost problem forming and act on it the same week, not after a change order arrives.
The Quality Argument
The second reason is quality. When the same group develops and builds a property, no one can point across the table and blame the other side. If a wall is wrong, it gets fixed, and there is no argument about whose budget pays for it. Paul Leongas stands behind the work because his own name and his own crews are on it. That accountability is hard to buy through a contract with a third party.
The Speed and Control Argument
The third reason is speed and control. A traditional project moves through a chain: owner to contractor to subcontractor and back. Each handoff adds time and a chance for the message to change. By developing and building under one roof, Paul Leongas shortens that chain. Decisions that might wait days for a meeting can happen on site. When a surprise shows up behind a wall — and on older buildings it always does — the person who can solve it is already there.
Sharper Numbers on Deals
Self-performing also sharpens how he buys property in the first place. Because he prices construction himself, his early numbers on a deal are grounded in what the work will actually cost, not a rough guess he hopes to confirm later. That makes his offers more accurate and his risk easier to see before he commits. A developer who has to wait on a contractor’s estimate is always one step behind his own deal.
Staying in the Right Lane
There are limits to the model, and Paul Leongas respects them. Self-performing works because Axis stays in markets and project types it knows well, mainly commercial work across Chicago’s North Shore and northwest neighborhoods. The approach depends on doing a focused set of things at a high level rather than chasing every kind of job. Stretch too far from that core, and the advantages of building your own work start to fade. The payoff shows up in the finished product: costs stay closer to plan, quality stays high, and schedules hold better because decisions happen fast and on site.