Suburban Landscaping Business Flourishes with Help from Illinois Tollway Diversity Programs
2025-11-17
When he launched his landscaping business in 2005, former U.S. Marine Robert Velazquez started small with just himself and a borrowed truck.
Since then his business, Semper Fi Land Services, has grown to specialize in doing commercial landscaping, drainage and demolition projects, relying on 45 employees during peak season and about 30 trucks and other vehicles to complete its work. Velazquez, who named his business after the Marine Corps motto, ”Semper Fidelis”—Latin for “Always Faithful”--is about to move into a new 10,000-square-foot facility he’s building in far southwest suburban Yorkville, where his business already is located in a smaller, older building.
He credits much of that growth to Illinois Tollway programs that helps small, diverse and veteran-owned businesses get on their feet by guiding them through the required steps needed to work on Tollway projects.
Velazquez is particularly pleased with the guidance he received from the Tollway’s Technical Assistance Program, which helps business owners like him obtain bonding, find insurance and gain other required skills so they are better able to compete for work on projects done by the Tollway and other transportation agencies.
“Had I not participated in the Technical Assistance Program, I don’t believe my business would be where it’s at today,” Velazquez said. “It’s allowed me to understand the public market on multiple levels, not only with the Tollway but with other agencies throughout the state. It’s allowed us to travel throughout the state and grow our business significantly.”
Velazquez, a Marine reservist when he started his business, originally did mostly residential landscaping—then was called to active duty, spending a year as an infantryman in Iraq. After returning home, he began expanding Semper Fi into commercial landscaping and drainage work.
Since joining the Technical Assistance Program in 2015, Velazquez has served as a prime contractor on nine Tollway landscaping or drainage projects, including work along the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) as it was being widened and rebuilt as part of the Tollway’s 16-year, $15 billion Move Illinois capital program. His business has done other tree-planting and drainage work along the Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88) and the new Illinois Route 390 Tollway.
Additionally, his firm has worked as a subcontractor on another seven projects.
Velazquez said about 90 percent of the work he does now is for public agencies, including the Tollway, the Illinois Department of Transportation, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, as well as county and municipal roadway departments..
“If I had not had the opportunity to participate in the Technical Assistance Program, I don’t know that I would have ever pursued public work as much as I did,” Velazquez said. “I was able to understand it a lot faster, I was able to assess the opportunity and realize the amount of opportunity that was out there, and thankfully I did move forward with it. I don’t know where else I would have gotten that type of resources and information.”
Velazquez also participates in the Tollway’s Partnering for Growth Program, which pairs small and diverse firms like his with larger, mentoring firms that have more experience working with the Tollway and following its rigorous bid and construction protocols.
His firm is working with Curran Construction, gaining experience in dealing with administrative issues, including handling payrolls and estimating project costs..
“Any questions or concerns we have as a small business, they’re our resource. We can say, ‘hey, we’re having this issue,’” Velazquez said. “Their experience, knowledge and the resources they have, there’s really not much we can’t accomplish with their help.”
The skills he’s learned from that partnership have put his company in a great position to continue expanding and growing as it takes on additional work from public agencies, he said.
“Currently, I see a lot of potential for growth for Semper Fi. Part of the reason we decided to participate in the Partnering for Growth Program was to set us up for growth so we could be as strategic as possible on all levels, from leadership, to administration to project management,” Velazquez said. “I think the sky is the limit with the type of work that’s out there, both with the state agencies, local agencies and even federal agencies.”