July 2025 | Nancy Dahlberg
THE ENTREPRENEUR
OSCAR MOREJON, 35 Founder and President
John Bell Construction, Miami
As a teen, Oscar Morejon wanted a car to get to baseball practice. Instead, he was handed a pressure cleaner.
His Cuban-born father, who had built his own business from sweeping the floors of a Miami jewelry shop to becoming a full-fledged jeweler, instilled that same immigrant spirit and hustle in his son. “My father told me, if you pressure clean driveways and sidewalks and roofs and you start a little business, you can buy whatever car you want, even a Ferrari,” Morejon recalls. Once he started pressure cleaning after school, that led to fencing and house painting gigs too — enough business to hire an assistant — and that marked the start of his entrepreneurial journey.
While still running his handyman business, Morejon attended Miami Dade College and thought he might pursue architecture or engineering, but a mentor urged him to apply to the construction management program at Florida International University. He earned his construction management degree in 2013, and an internship at Suffolk Construction, a big industry player in South Florida, led to a full-time role as part of Suffolk’s Career Ready program. Over the next several years with Suffolk, he learned how to run jobs and oversee people, and participated in building a Miami high-rise complex called Met 3.
Still, he had a feeling he couldn’t shake. At age 26, newly married and with less than $2,000 in the bank, Morejon told his wife he was ready to leave the stability of a steady paycheck and start his own construction company.
“I thought if we have a construction company that shows up on time, does the right thing, and gives good prices and good service, I think it would be hard for us to not be successful in a city like Miami, where contractors are infamous for being none of those things.” At the time he had no general contractor license, no company name in mind, no work lined up, and certainly no employees along for the journey. Everyone except his wife, Isabella, and his parents told him it was a crazy idea.
After praying about the decision, Morejon resigned from Suffolk, passed the general contractors state exam and founded John Bell Construction in early 2016. The company name is a blend of parts of his last name and his wife’s first name.
Today, the fast-growing multimilliondollar general contracting firm with 32 employees boasts a portfolio of major municipal and commercial projects and has earned a reputation for delivering quality and caring deeply about community, he says. But Morejon started out with a series of small jobs and again was powered by that inner drive inherited from his parents, who were both part of Operation Pedro Pan, a program that relocated Cuban children to the U.S. after the rise of Fidel Castro.
John Bell’s first job? A plastering project that Morejon took on himself. Work kept coming, mainly by word of mouth, and the projects got bigger. Soon, he hired his first employee, his assistant from his pressure-cleaning days. A little later he brought in Albert Faz, his best friend, as a partner and to oversee the finances. Faz didn’t know construction, Morejon didn’t know accounting, and “we taught each other everything,” Morejon says.
When they needed to begin hiring construction superintendents, estimators and project managers, John Bell had no employee handbook or benefit package. Morejon and Faz brought on Jazz Machin, another longtime friend with a background in HR and recruiting. “We all played baseball together growing up. To work with best friends is obviously a dream come true,” Morejon says. Together, they learned the ups and downs of being leaders while building their team and creating a healthy work culture.
John Bell’s first million-dollar job was a large historic home in Coral Gables. That renovation project proved the young company could handle complex work and unlocked more opportunities, from apartment buildings to medical centers to municipal buildings. Roughly half of John Bell’s projects now come from government contracts, says Morejon. “We love serving the community and building lasting relationships with cities and constituents — and we found that government appreciates our team.”
GIVING BACK
A spirit of service drives Morejon’s John Bell Foundation, which funds a unique “Excess Credit Scholarship” to FIU students who will graduate with more credits than they need due to changing majors during their college careers. “We want to make sure that the money isn’t the reason they don’t graduate,” says Morejon. In addition to scholarships, the foundation provides career mentoring to high school students (including for the construction trades), contributes on-the-ground hurricane relief, and supports other local aid efforts. The foundation’s mission “is to use the gifts that we were given to bless others,” says Morejon.
At FIU, Morejon serves on the School of Engineering Leadership Council, the Construction Management Advisory Board and the President’s Council. Morejon is particularly proud of two awards for John Bell Construction: General Contractor of the Year by the American Institute of Architects and Best Places to Work by the South Florida Business Journal — testaments, he says, to a company culture of humility, hustle and heart.
As for the future? Morejon says John Bell has the team expertise to handle bigger and better projects. “I feel that we should be making a name for ourselves as a leader in construction management and general contracting here in Miami.” That means growing the company and the foundation. “I always say that I want the company to grow as much as possible without me losing my family or my mind.