Nick Leiss

Nick Leiss (rhymes with “peace”) brings his experience gained from nearly two decades as a builder to the upkeep of Centerbrook’s campus. He created dream projects for shoreline residents, relishing both the engagement with his customers and putting the finishing touches on before the big reveal.

Raised in Clinton, Connecticut, Nick grew up on Long Island Sound. He admits that he and his two older brothers were a handful – energy that Nick funneled into wrestling in high school. Upon graduation, he signed up with a local builder framing decks and digging foundation footings. After several years of hard labor, Nick and a friend formed their own contracting company, and for the next 15 years, built a customer base remodeling kitchens and bathrooms. While he enjoyed employing his design and construction expertise, the business left little time for his wife, Jess (his high school sweetheart), and their children, Hazel and Freddie.

Joining Centerbrook gave Nick a more predictable schedule while also scratching an itch to tackle a wider variety of projects. Having mostly worked alone, he enjoys being around other people, and is enthusiastic about his role as a steward of our factory compound.

In his spare time, Nick grudgingly works on his house, finding it, in his words, “easier to build with other people’s money.” He is an avid outdoorsman, which became an interest in his 20s when he hiked the Appalachian Trail from Connecticut to New Hampshire. A prolific reader, Nick devours biographies, history, and science fiction. His favorite book? Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, whose exploration of society’s outcasts resonates with him.

When not reading, hiking, or spending time with his family, Nick, true to his 90s kid roots, listens to The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Wu-Tang Clan. And he is also prone to wisecracks like “Dictators make for a good read.”