Gramatica Brothers Help United Business Park Go Green

Carter Gaddis | Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Terry Hunt of TL Hunt Inc. wanted to sell office space to the former football-playing Gramatica brothers, who now own and operate a construction-based business in Tampa called Gramatica SIPS International.

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers place kicker Martin Gramatica and his brothers, former University of South Florida place kickers Bill and Santiago Gramatica, had another idea during a meeting at Hunt's office.

"We were trying to sell him our product," says Bill, who also kicked in the National Football League. "He was trying to sell us an office."

The Gramatica brothers convinced Hunt to use their product, structural insulated panels, in the ongoing construction of TL Hunt Inc.'s United Business Park, located on Hillsborough Avenue about a mile west of the Veterans Expressway.

The structural insulated panels have "tremendous energy efficiency and strength," says Bill Gramatica. "It has a stacking strength five times stronger than concrete blocks."

The panels consist of rigid foam plastic insulation sandwiched between engineered wood facings. They were invented more than 60 years ago and have gained wide-spread use by energy-conscious builders

United Business Park already is fronted by a NAPA auto parts store and George's Wholesale Tire. Plans call for 10 additional 10,000-square-foot office/warehouse buildings, to be partitioned into four units of 2,500 square feet, as well as a new corporate headquarters for TL Hunt Inc. and an additional 3,500-square-foot building toward the front of the 23-acre property.

The business park also will include a dock for fishing, riding trails and a picnic area, says Sheryl Marks of TL Hunt Inc.

Bill Gramatica says Gramatica SIPS International also has begun to explore avenues to build their prefabricated structures in Haiti. Martin Gramatica, who also kicked for the New Orleans Saints before retiring in 2008, has explored ways to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina by building strong, relatively inexpensive housing in stricken areas.

Writer: Carter Gaddis
Source: Bill Gramatica, Gramatica SIPS International

Read more articles by Carter Gaddis.

Carter Gaddis is a freelance writer and graduate of the University of South Florida (BA, mass communications). He covered sports for the Tampa Tribune for 16 years, including four years on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and eight years on the Tampa Bay Rays beat. He publishes the parenting and social commentary blog, DadScribe, and is a contributing writer for the TODAY Show. He lives in Lutz with his wife and two sons. Carter can be found on Twitter @DadScribe.