Seabreeze Building (copy)

Berenyi Inc., an architectural, engineering and construction firm, is in the Seabreeze Building, a one-time jail transformed in to office space off Morrison Drive near the Ravenel Bridge. File

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Berenyi Inc. founder Tony Berenyi names 2 vice presidents to lead engineering firm

A longtime Charleston engineering, architectural and construction firm leader is passing the baton to a new set of captains.

Berenyi Inc., first launched in the late 1980s by Tony Berenyi, who received a degree in civil engineering from The Citadel and earned a master's in structural dynamics at MIT, is now being led by engineers Razvan "Raz" Cojocaru and Jordan Behringer.

Berenyi called them "two dynamic, forward-thinking millennials" poised to lead the firm as the Lowcountry and the state continue industrial growth.

Tony Berenyi, president and founder of Berenyi Inc.

Tony Berenyi is president and founder of Berenyi Inc., an architectural, engineering and construction firm in Charleston. File/Provided

"Jordan and Raz are motivated, intuitive, adaptive, creative and openly receptive to feedback, which makes these millennials well-suited to lead and succeed," Berenyi said.

The business is located at 49 Immigration St. on the Charleston peninsula on the Cooper River near the Ravenel Bridge behind the developing Morrison Yard office and apartment projects on Morrison Drive.

"When you grow a business from the ground up, over the span of three decades, it becomes more than a career, it becomes a part of your DNA and the whole of your identity," Berenyi said.

Razvan "Raz' Cojocaru

Razvan "Raz" Cojocaru has been named as one of two co-vice presidents to lead Berenyi Inc., an architectural, engineering and construction firm in Charleston, when founder and president Tony Berenyi steps aside. Berenyi Inc./Provided

"As I seek out new adventures and continue my journey with a passion for learning and exploring, I want to know my company, my legacy, thrives without my day-to-day input," he said. "I am confident Raz and Jordan will continue to serve our clients and the community and adhere to the proven standards I developed that have always served as the bedrock of Berenyi’s success."

Berenyi, the son of immigrant Hungarians, was raised on a farm in Montana before his family moved to Union in the Upstate when he was a teenager. He later earned his degrees and was commissioned with the U.S. Army Reserve and attended Engineer Officers School.

Shortly after launching his business, he was called to duty for Operation Desert Storm in 1990 when Iraq invaded Kuwait. There he commanded a 250-man unit and later received a Bronze Star. He returned to restart the business with industrial and commercial projects across South Carolina and, in 2016, in Africa.

"Those are some big shoes to fill," said Cojocaru, Berenyi’s co-vice president who emigrated to the U.S. in 2006 from Romania to attend the U.S. Military Academy and Virginia Tech. He started with Berenyi in 2017.

He added that Berenyi's "coaching and laser focus on exceeding client expectations" have prepared him for the job.

Jordan Behringer

Jordan Behringer has been named as one of two co-vice presidents to lead Berenyi Inc., an architectural, engineering and construction firm in Charleston, when founder and president Tony Berenyi steps aside. Berenyi Inc./Provided

Behringer, also a co-vice president and originally from upstate New York, grew up on Lowcountry construction sites with the family business. He joined the firm in 2015 and said he is humbled by Berenyi tapping him to help lead the firm.

"Tony has allowed me the opportunity to do what I love — exploring innovative solutions and always aiming to exceed client expectations," Behringer, a Clemson University graduate, said. "He has brought out the best in me."

Berenyi moved his offices into the restored Seabreeze building, once used as a prison, next to the State Ports Authority's Columbus Street Terminal in 2009. In 2020, the property was sold to Town Creek Investors LLC for $9.05 million, according to Charleston County land records.


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Home for sale

Charleston-area home sales are returning somewhat to pre-pandemic levels but the median price is not declining. It rose in April to $399,000. Warren L. Wise/Staff

Charleston-area median home price now $399,000

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By the numbers

2: Number of locations for British-inspired pub My Father's Moustache in the Charleston area when a second, 3,200-square-foot location opens on James Island. 

950: Square footage of new women's clothing boutique Ala von Auersperg in downtown Charleston.

30,000: Square footage of new small-format Target store opening May 15 in downtown Charleston.

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A deal has fallen apart to buy the International Longshoremen's Association union hall at 1142 Morrison Drive in Charleston. A developer wanted to build apartments on the site. File/Robert Behre/Staff

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Reach Warren L. Wise at wwise@postandcourier.com. Follow him on Twitter @warrenlancewise.

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