make beautiful the parts unseen
education
Bachelor of Arts in Architecture, Lehigh University
CREDENTIALS
AIA Licensed Architect
LEED Accredited Professional
NJ Registered New Home Builder
REALTOR - Associate
Matthew Francis Testa's obsession with precision in the built environment traces back to his grandfathers — a stone mason and a watchmaker.
Beginning as a carpenter's apprentice, he rose to Construction Director at Hoboken's most active development group, where he oversaw more than one million square feet of mixed-use projects spanning 859 dwelling units, five retail spaces, and two robotic parking systems. His tenure included the delivery of multiple LEED Platinum multifamily buildings and New Jersey's first reinforced-concrete Passive House mid-rise.
That foundation informs everything at Livingsystems — a firm built around the conviction that all-electric, zero-emission smart buildings aren't a niche pursuit, but the only responsible path forward.
work
2020 - now
2011 - 2020
2003 - 2011
EXPERIENCE
project, city. company/role/year
multi-family
UX-413, hoboken. LIVINGSYSTEMS/Owner.Architect.Contractor/2025
THE WYLDES, hoboken. LIVINGSYSTEMS/INTERIOR DESIGNER/2023
Candela lofts, hoboken. bijou properties/construction director/2020
7seventyhouse, hoboken. bijou properties/construction director/2020
via lofts, hoboken. bijou properties/construction director/2019
edge adams, hoboken. bijou properties/construction director/2019
vine, hoboken. bijou properties/construction director/2016
Park+garden, hoboken. bijou properties/construction director/2015
edge lofts, hoboken. bijou properties/construction director/2013
ARTISAN SERIES, hoboken. FIELDS CONSTRUCTION/PROJECT MANAGER/2011
THE SAFFRON, JERSEY CITY. FIELDS CONSTRUCTION/PROJECT MANAGER/2009
SATORI LOFTS, hoboken. FIELDS CONSTRUCTION/PROJECT MANAGER/2007
THE ARIEL, hoboken. FIELDS CONSTRUCTION/PROJECT MANAGER/2006
WESTFIELDS, hoboken. FIELDS CONSTRUCTION/PROJECT SUPERVISOR/2003
single-family
UX-500, Asbury park,livingsystems/owner.ARCHITECT.contractor/2026
restaurant
Keepers, harrison. livingsystems/ARCHITECT/2025
THE HIVE, JERSEY CITY. livingsystems/ARCHITECT/2025
porter collins, hoboken. livingsystems/contractor/2017
hudson table, hoboken. livingsystems/contractor/2014
retail
west elm, hoboken. bijou properties/contractor/2016
athletic
gravity vault, hoboken. bijou properties/contractor/2016
slt, hoboken. bijou properties/contractor/2016
Over the course of 23 years, Matthew has worked across every dimension of the real estate development lifecycle — from pre-development strategy and architectural design through construction management, marketing, sales, and asset operations primarily in Hoboken, NJ.
His experience within boutique development firms demanded a level of ownership and adaptability that larger organizations rarely require, producing a practitioner who is as comfortable negotiating a subcontract as he is reviewing a set of construction documents or structuring a pro forma. A deep commitment to sustainability has been a constant thread throughout, driving early and sustained exposure to advanced building science, new urbanist planning principles, and the evolving frontier of high-performance construction.
That breadth of exposure — across project types, scales, and asset classes — has sharpened a clear point of view: that the next generation of multifamily development must integrate clean energy systems, IoT-enabled infrastructure, and passive architectural design not as add-ons, but as foundational commitments.
Matthew brings this perspective to Livingsystems, the vertically integrated development and design firm he co-leads with partner Colleen O'Keefe. Together, they are building a best-in-class platform that assembles like-minded creative, design, and construction professionals around projects worthy of the effort.