The MacQuesten Companies history is closely tied to the story of its founder and CEO, Ms. Rella Fogliano. Since the age of six, Ms. Fogliano has been visiting construction sites. The only child of a prominent general contractor, Sabino Fogliano, at the age of seventeen she began working part-time in the company that he started in 1960 and that bore his name. Upon graduation from Fordham University in 1983 Rella joined the firm full-time.

When Mr. Fogliano retired in 1988, Ms. Fogliano formed MacQuesten General Contracting, Inc. and continued to perform work for many of the same clients. In the early nineties, Ms. Fogliano set out to develop properties that the company had acquired, especially in the Bronx. She found that there was a significant shortage of new affordable housing throughout the New York Metropolitan area. The first successful example of this housing is Hughes Avenue Crescent. It was funded through the New York State Housing Trust Fund Corporation, the proceeds of tax credits, and conventional financing. The building, housing 63 families, was completed in March of 1996 and is still operating successfully today.

In early 2003 Ms. Fogliano formed MacQuesten Construction Management, LLC and MacQuesten Development, LLC. Together the companies specialize in financing, designing, and construction management of multi-family and commercial properties, which are then privately held by affiliated companies.

The MacQuesten Companies successfully completed one of the first projects under New York City Housing Development Corporation’s (HDC) then newly created New Housing Opportunities Program (NHOPS). The project, known as Palmer Court Homes, was completed in 2001.

Another first in New York State was the project known as Tony Mendez Apartments which was funded under The State of New York Homes and Community Renewal’s (HCR) Homes for Working Families Program and Tax Exempt Bond Financing through HDC. The property on which Tony Mendez Apartments are built is formerly owned by the City of New York. After the required ULURP, the land was disposed of to Madison Court Associates, LP an affiliate of MacQuesten Development.