Miranda & Hardt

Miranda & Hardt, LLC is a small company that has operated in the Ocean View, Delaware area since 1999. We offer both residential and commercial design and building services in Southeastern Sussex County, as well as a limited number of exclusive properties for sale or lease there.

In the course of construction, we build lasting friendships with our clients, as well as solid structures that will endure for many years. In case we haven't met yet, following are some short stories about the people of Miranda & Hardt, and how they came together to form a company bent on exceeding expectations.

Possessed of a dry wit, financial savvy and an ear for good music, Frank Miranda followed a long and winding road to the Delaware Coast. Hailing from McKeesport, Pennsylvania, young Frank worked as a deckhand up and down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers from New Orleans to Pittsburgh. His travels continued when the Army sent him first to Baltimore and then to Southeast Asia between 1968 and 1971.

While he was shopping for a jean jacket to take overseas, Frank met a girl named Mary. "It was love at first sight," says Frank, "and that was it for me." As newlyweds, Frank and Mary rented a tiny little house in PA and Frank worked for the railroad. Then, there was a period of operating as a small General Contractor in Western PA, which somehow led to a well-known frozen yogurt franchise. Twenty-one years ago, Frank found himself in Bethany Beach to launch another new TCBY. He and Mary, his wife and business partner, never left.

Frank recalls first meeting Mark Hardt in 1995 and seeing that he had great potential - given proper guidance. That fateful day would lead to a partnership formalized in 1999. The year 2009 will be celebrated by family, friends and clients as the 10th Anniversary of Miranda & Hardt.

For several years now, Frank has been among a select group of incredibly tough individuals who officiate at NCAA Division II Football games. In his rare and precious spare time, Frank enjoys a good round of golf, practicing acoustic guitar and anything to do with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

If you are looking for Mark Hardt, you will probably hear him before you see him. With a booming laugh and an irrepressible sense of humor, Mark brings an outstanding, positive attitude to every project or problem that presents itself. An abiding love of family, friends, deep-sea fishing and community are just part of the package.

Self-described as "one big human being", Mark was raised in a three bedroom house in Charles City, Iowa with six brothers and sisters. Mark's dad was also his coach during the early years of a budding football career. Football was Mark's key to the University of Northern Iowa. Construction work was, at first, just a way to earn some cash. Injuries changed his career focus and a fledgling company called SeaHawk Construction was born. Today, SeaHawk Designs display a distinctive style that Mark has honed and refined here in Southern Delaware.

When Mark met and married Paula Sue Paradee, from Laurel, they first lived in a little house on Evans in Bethany. Daughter Lindsay made their lives a joy and soon the young family settled in Blackwater Cove. Today their expanded and improved home there still welcomes family and friends in a big way - just like Mark. Paula Hardt is presently Assistant Vice President at County Bank in Rehoboth Beach.  Lindsay will soon become a nurse practicing here in our area.

With regard to Miranda & Hardt, Mark credits Bob DiFebo with introducing him to Frank Miranda with the express advice that they were meant to be partners. That was ten years ago and Bob was absolutely correct. [Thanks Bob!]

John O'Leary became the youngest partner in Miranda & Hardt LLC in 2005. Beyond his passion for building it right the first time, John is a stanch family man and die-hard kite-surfer. Allergic to button down shirts and neckties, John is our man in the field.

Having lived in many different countries as the son of a diplomat, John chose to stay and complete a five year carpentry apprenticeship in Sydney, Australia. Shortly thereafter, a summer visit to Bethany Beach turned into a summer job and then settling into a small house that "needed some work done to it". John still feels that this area "is the perfect place. There's plenty of work, it's quiet in the off season and the ocean is right here."

Mark, John, and their respective canine mascots met and found that they worked well together as independents during the early 1990's. They actually built a house for Frank in Ocean Village in 1995, before M&H came together as an entity.

Somewhere around that time, John met a nurse from Lewes, Jessica Wray, at the Parkway in Bethany. They were married on Quillen's Point at the VFW. Now they live with two energetic young sons, Liam and Sean, in the house Jess describes as John's grand project.