BUILDERS OF A BETTER WORLD
LEADERSHIP
Les Allen Jr.
President & CEO
Les Allen, Jr. was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. At an early age, Mr. Allen jumped into the cold and deep entrepreneurial waters when he opened what he and his mother called “Leslie’s Popcorn Shop” in his neighborhood in 1980. After graduating from Hampton University in 1990, Les developed his business savvy by building several successful businesses, primarily through strategic partnerships. Over the last 30+ years, he has mastered the art of the 3 P’s, patience, planning and perseverance, which he considers to be the fundamental foundation of a successful entrepreneur. Les has owned and operated several businesses, including an Afrocentric bookstore, an automated tunnel carwash, a nightclub, a commercial development company, Burger King restaurants, an automatic coin operated laundry facility, and a construction company to name a few. Les has over 27 years of experience in all aspects of housing and construction services. He has worked in various positions from site supervision to the C-Suite, so he understands every aspect of each project that he has underway. He has served as an Assistant Director of Housing for the City of Dallas. During his tenure there, close to $40M of infrastructure improvements, commercial, mixed-use, and affordable housing development took place. Les’ ability to develop and implement aggressive project schedules is a major component in keeping the complex projects that he manages on track. He has a proven record of taking projects from start to finish under budget and on-time. Under his leadership BSC Solutions Group, Inc. dba The BlackStar Companies – a construction & energy services firm, has been recognized for the firm’s Dedication, Commitment and Successes. His FAITH in God’s Plan for him, facilitates the rationale for his success. Les always says “I have been BLESSED to have people on my team who are smarter than I am, and they TRUST my LEADERSHIP abilities enough to help me execute my vision.”
Mark S. Hartley
BSCSG-HARTLEY
Mark S. Hartley began his professional career in 1973 as a project architect for two of the Tampa Bay Area’s largest and most prestigious architectural firms, McElvy, Jennewein, Stefany & Howard and Reynolds, Smith & Hills, Inc. In this capacity, he was responsible for the design, contract documentation and field supervision of a number of complex projects such as Kennedy Square Office Building, Tampa, the Learning Resource Center of Pasco-Hernando Community College, New Port Richey and WAC Reception & Processing Center, Fort McClennan, Alabama. He later joined Fleishman-Garcia Architects/Planners, promoted to Associate in 1981 he successfully directed several major projects including the Hillsborough County Utilities Administration Building, Tampa; Waltson’s Office Building, Tampa; Sun City Center Branch Post Office and Tampa West Business Center in Tampa. He was also directly responsible for the design and development of various residential projects. Mr. Hartley was accepted into the American Institute of Architects in 1974, one year after graduating magna cum laude from the University of Florida. In college he was actively involved in a number of campus activities ranging from Associate Editor of the University of Florida Architectural Publications to Student Senator for the College of Architecture & Fine Arts to a Special Studies Program involving the Nantucket Institute in historic preservation documentation for the National Register. In addition, he was a member of Phi Kappa Phi National Arts & Sciences Honorary Fraternity and Tau Sigma Delta Architectural Honorary Fraternity. Other affiliations that Mr. Hartley has become associated with during his career include NCARB and SBCC. As Mr. Hartley moved on to Independence in the field of Architecture he acquired his General Contractor’s license to expand his knowledge and ability. During this time he continued to receive recognition for excellence in Architectural Design, his work has been featured in publications such as; Florida Architect, Southern Homes, Life and Home, Tampa Bay Monthly, Tampa Bay Life, St. Petersburg Times and the Tampa Tribune. Further recognition was achieved after receiving awards of excellence from the Concrete Institute of Florida and the Hillsborough County Planning Commission. As the founder and President of Hartley Purdy Architecture, Inc. Mark has continued to demonstrate his unique ability to creatively use readily available materials and his understanding of the construction process to produce quality, professionally recognized, yet cost effective designs. Now as a partner in BSCSG- Hartley I Will bring my talents and Experience to focus on Construction of quality projects in Florida.