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No Such Thing as Impossible.
That’s what the late Jairo Alvarez called the autobiography he wrote at age 70. It’s a perspective that permeated each era of Alvarez’s life, from his early days in Colombia to his role as founder of one of the state’s largest residential construction companies. And it’s a philosophy he was intent on spreading to others through philanthropic work aimed at helping those facing their own life challenges.
“He was so proud to say that Alvarez Construction was one of the biggest builder-developers in Louisiana,” his son Sebastian says. “But he was so humble, and it was important to him to give back.”
Born in Sonsón, Colombia, in 1938, Alvarez was the second-born of 11 children. He and his siblings helped their Papacito, Mario, and Mamacita, Adela, tend to corn and potato crops and raise animals on their farm tucked against a mountain. “All we had was each other,” Alvarez wrote in his book. “We worked hard, but we were content.”
Alvarez left that peaceful life at age 15 for the Military School of Cadets in Bogotá. As he wrote in his book, the most valuable thing he took with him was advice from his Papacito: “Before each move you make, ask yourself if what you are doing is right, and then do it faster and better than anyone else. That’s all you will need to be successful at whatever you do.”
It was a tumultuous time to be training for the Colombian Army, as Gustavo Rojas Pinilla had just led a military coup. Colombian citizens initially hoped the new leader would restore peace, but his authoritarian regime was soon met with much public opposition. At the academy, Alvarez excelled by following his father’s wise counsel. He graduated in the top 10% of his class in 1957.
After serving as an artillery instructor and then fighting guerrillas in the jungle, he was called to be a member of the Presidential Guard protecting new leader Alberto Lleras Comargo, who took over after Rojas Pinilla was forced to resign. When a group of retired military officers attempted to force Alvarez to be part of their plans for another coup, he instead fell back on his father’s advice and began reporting the group’s plans back to the government. Some of the dissidents were finally arrested and tried, but because Alvarez’s secret work had been exposed and he had testified against them, he was in grave danger when they were acquitted.
That’s how he found himself on a cargo plane bound for Miami at age 25, his wallet containing only $100 that he had earned from selling his Ray-Ban sunglasses and typewriter. Soon, he would be in Albany, New York, where his brother Enrique lived.
This new life in the U.S. in 1963 wasn’t easy, either, since Alvarez spoke no English and had no prospects. He cleaned surgical equipment at a hospital and washed dishes at a hotel restaurant. But he held onto his belief that nothing was impossible, teaching himself the language by practicing conversation with a statue of Moses in a park before working his way through Albany Business College. “On the day of my graduation, I made up my mind,” he wrote. “I loved America, but I was going home.”
Alvarez spent the next 16 years in his homeland. During this time, he met his soon-to-be wife, Anita Velez, and they started a family, including elder son Carlos, daughter Ana and younger son Sebastian. Alvarez landed a job as a comptroller for a U.S. subsidiary of Nabisco operating in Colombia, and he built his family a home, and then another. “Construction had become my new hobby,” he wrote.
That hobby turned into a lucrative side business when he began building luxury homes and then an apartment complex. Little Carlos would visit jobsites with him on Saturdays, picking up nails and working the calculator as his father processed the payroll.
Alvarez—this time with his family in tow—made the move back to the U.S. in 1984, escaping the continued unrest in Colombia. “I wanted my children to … have the best opportunities they could,” he wrote. “I wanted them to be safe, to learn a different way of life.”
Alvarez immediately became an entrepreneur in Baton Rouge, where the family settled near the home of Anita’s sister. Their yogurt and ice cream shop, Umbrella’s, gave the children jobs, and it also served as a launching point for Alvarez Construction, because it was where he met some of the people he would call “angels on earth.”
“He believed these angels were special people that God puts in your path and they help you in ways that change your life,” Carlos explains.
Bob Richardson, a local builder and developer, gave Alvarez a “business in a box,” Sebastian says, with all the information and tools he needed to get into residential construction in Baton Rouge. Attorney Aubrey McCleary became another trusted ally, and other businessmen became ad hoc advisers. With their help and plenty of determination, Alvarez built his first house in Shenandoah Estates. In 1991, at the age of 52, he was starting what would be his most significant career chapter.
As Alvarez Construction grew, Carlos, Ana and Sebastian all eventually joined their father and lent their strengths to expanding the business. With Alvarez at the helm, the family-run company built thousands of homes and then began developing subdivisions around the city.
“One of Dad’s goals was to be viewed as one of the biggest builder-developers around,” Sebastian says, citing significant projects including the 400-plus homes at The Lakes at Jamestown set on 108 acres purchased during the 2008 recession. “It was a big risk for us, but we pushed through, and that really put Alvarez Construction on the map as far as volume and size.”
To reach these goals, “Jairo needed to become extremely focused,” says Colombian-born and New Orleans-based artist Gustavo Duque, a longtime friend. “Fortunately, he had the best partners in the world—his wife and family. They all worked in sync and shared a common goal that was not about making money but building communities and relationships. His subcontractors, clients and developers and the city officials knew Jairo was trustworthy and reliable.”
In 1999, Alvarez’s desire to help others—just like as a child he had watched his Papacito do—led him to volunteer to build the Baton Rouge St. Jude Dream Home, a fundraiser for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. Though he initially told himself he would continue doing so until the annual giveaway raised $10 million, he blew past that mark and never stopped. Alvarez Construction still builds the house for the Dream Home giveaway each year, and proceeds have now have topped $27 million, Carlos says.
Another philanthropic opportunity for Alvarez stemmed from his passion for bicycling, an interest he picked up as a boy riding in the Colombian mountainside. Three years after first winning four gold medals for cycling at the 2004 Louisiana Senior Olympics, he and his family held the first No Such Thing as Impossible Bike Ride benefitting McMains Children’s Development Center’s Wheels to Succeed program that provides adaptive bikes for children with developmental challenges. The program currently operates under Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Health and remains a beneficiary of this annual cycling event, which is now chaired by Sebastian.
Alvarez continued to ride his bike competitively—and to work at the construction company—even after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. Later, he developed kidney cancer and underwent a rigorous treatment process, but an infection ultimately led to his death in 2013.
“He said he had looked up the definition of ‘retire’ in the dictionary and it didn’t apply to him,” Sebastian says. Adds Carlos, “He worked until the very, very end.”
Today, with a charcoal portrait of Alvarez hanging on the wall just outside the Alvarez Construction boardroom, Carlos sits in the chair at the head of the table, following in his father’s footsteps as CEO. Sebastian is chief operating officer, and Ana is the company’s chief financial officer. The firm now builds more than 350 homes each year, Sebastian says.
The siblings say their father’s work ethic and optimism are what they carry with them as they lead the company. “His advice was always to stay humble—that it’s not all about you, it’s about the people you serve,” Ana says. “And it’s really true that nothing was impossible for him. We learned that hopefulness from him.”
That legacy is what Alvarez himself would have wanted. True prosperity, by his standards, had nothing to do with the number of homes he built. “I have never measured my success by the size of a job or by my bank account,” he wrote in his book. “I can tell how successful I have become by the fact that my children are working alongside me like I worked alongside my Papacito.”
MILESTONES
1938: Born in Sonsón, Colombia, a small town south of Medellin, as one of 11 children born to Mario and Adela Álvarez
1953: Enrolls in the Colombian National Army’s military academy in Bogota. He graduates as a second lieutenant of artillery, becomes an instructor in the school of artillery, and then moves on to the ranger school.
1960: Assumes a role as part of the Presidential Guard
1963: With the Colombian government’s help, he flees to the U.S. at age 25 and lands in Miami. He ends up in Albany, New York, and takes a job disinfecting surgical equipment at a hospital
1964: Enrolls at Albany Business College while still working at the hospital as well as at a hotel restaurant
1966: Graduates with honors with a degree in business administration from Albany Business College. He immediately returns to Colombia, where he soon meets the woman who will become his wife, Anita Velez. While living in Colombia, the couple have three children—Carlos, Ana and Sebastian.
1984: With Colombia experiencing significant political unrest, the family migrates to the U.S. and settles in Baton Rouge. The same year, he opens Umbrella’s ice cream shop on Gardere Lane. The shop eventually relocates to South Sherwood Forest Boulevard and remains in business for seven years.
1991: At age 52, opens Alvarez Construction Company, which would go on to develop such subdivisions as Hidden Ridge, Forest Creek, Magnolia Pointe, South Hampton and The Lakes at Jamestown.
1999: Builds the first Baton Rouge St. Jude Dream Home, with proceeds benefitting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. In 2012, he receives the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Dream Home Builder Summit. The company still builds the home each year and has helped raise more than $20 million for the cause.
2004: Enters his first cycling race at the Louisiana Senior Olympics. He goes on to compete in state and national Senior Olympics games for several years—even 95 days after undergoing surgery for prostate cancer.
2007: Puts together a bike ride as a fundraising event for McMains Children’s Developmental Center’s Wheels to Succeed program. The program, now operated by Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Health, provides adaptive bikes for kids with developmental challenges. Alvarez Construction continues to sponsor this event.
2008: Publishes his autobiography, No Such Thing as Impossible. Proceeds are donated to orphans in Colombia.
2013: Dies at the age of 75
