Dennis Mello helped build arenas, a mall and other Miami landmarks. He has died at 72
In 1997, at an Archdiocese of Miami donor dinner, the Rev. James Fetscher was talking to the crowd about plans to build St. Louis Covenant School in Pinecrest. Dennis Mello, co-founder and co-owner of Mello Concrete Services, stood up from the table and said: “I will donate the floors.”
His wife, Diane, didn’t know he was going to do that, but she wasn’t surprised.
“I never doubted that we would donate the floors,” Diane said. “We’re so attached to that church.”
St. Louis Covenant School was one of the many projects Mello worked on. Some of South Florida’s landmarks are standing because of Mello, including the Kaseya Center, where the Miami Heat plays; FLA Live Arena, where the Florida Panthers play; and the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.
Mello died from diabetes complications on May 17 in Miami surrounded by his family, Diane Mello said. He was 72.
Contributions to South Florida skyline
In 1986, Dennis and Diane Mello started Mello Concrete Services in Miami, a concrete placing and finishing company. At first, they ran it out of their Palmetto Bay home while they got permits and licensing. Dennis focused on the manual labor and Diane worked on the paperwork.
“It was a mom and pop shop,” Diane Mello said.
Mello’s first job was in Key Largo on the Tradewinds Shopping Center, which was completed in 1988. As the company expanded over the years, so did the Miami and Fort Lauderdale skylines thanks to Mello.
His work has won prestigious awards and set records.
The Kaseya Center, previously AmericanAirlines Arena, broke the world record for flattest slab of concrete at the time of construction and received the Golden Trowel Award for the feat.
The Four Seasons Hotel Miami in Brickell was the tallest building in the city and the state until 2017, and the Trump Royale in Sunny Isles Beach held the record of largest mat pour at its time of construction in 2007.
Other contributions to Miami-Dade and Broward counties include parking garages at Aventura Mall, Miami International Airport, Nova Southeastern University, Florida International University and Sawgrass Mills mall.
‘Everybody loved Dennis’
Even as one of the best concrete finishers and contractors in South Florida, Mello wasn’t just noticed for his quality of work, but also for his personality.
He used to wear a yellow straw hat and had a cigar on him all the time. His signature color was yellow for “Mellow Yellow,” the 1960s’ Donovan song. It was also the ringer on his phone — and both of his vehicles, a pickup truck and a Mini Cooper, were yellow. He enjoyed surfing on Melbourne Beach in Florida, golfing and spending time with his family.
“Everybody loved Dennis,” said longtime friend and work colleague Rocky Bowe, owner of reinforcing steel company Titan Builders. “He was definitely unique.”
Mello would join the crew on site and spend the day of labor with them, and he never asked anybody to do a job he wouldn’t do. He would arrive at the location at least half an hour before everyone to make sure they were all ready to go to work.
“His honesty and integrity are probably what stick out most in my mind,” said Mike McTee, another of Mello’s close friends and former senior vice president for Morse Diesel and the company’s South Florida general superintendent.
A man of faith
Dennis and Diane Mello prayed together before he went to work every day and would say the rosary together at night. He sometimes also went to daily Mass before work and attended St. Louis Catholic Church every Sunday with his family.
Diane Mello said they couldn’t have done business without God. When things got tough, they reminded themselves to take one step at a time and “always, always [have] God in the forefront of everything.”
Their relationship with Jesus Christ was very important to the couple, who actually had their first date at St. Mary’s Cathedral in 1985. Diane knew he was the man she would marry. They married six months later in 1986.
In his last moments, Diane spoke to him: “You’re going to be who God created you to be. And when I get there, I will be who God created me to be, so save the first dance for me.”
Memorial
In addition to his wife, Diane, Mello’s survivors include his sister, Debra; his six children Carmen, Maximilian, Zachariah, Denise, Mariah and Anastasia; and his grandson, Dennis. Services were held.
