How Can a Board Juggle Various Contractors Without Getting Overwhelmed?
Construction manager Weinstein, board president Giglio, and manager Weeks in the Plaza 400 lobby
May 18, 2015 — It often starts with a leak or an on-again-off-again boiler or a high energy bill. In short, the process starts with a problem requiring extensive repairs or replacement. And that can be a major challenge itself. In fact, the amount of money, time, coordination, and risk in a major capital improvement program can stop many a brave board from proceeding. Or at least slow them down. And the larger the co-op or condo, the more complex the challenges. There are bid specifications to be written and then analyzed, contractors to be vetted and chosen, and expensive contracts to sign. Once that is done, there are the logistics to work out: sometimes equipment has to be built on the spot, and other times there are difficulties just getting it through the door, transporting it into the basement, or moving it up to the roof. Then, there is the question of access and scheduling: various contractors have to be worked into the overall timetable, residents usually have to be relocated while work is being done, and, of course, they have to agree to let workers into their apartments.
When the work involves many different trades, the time required to manage it all can be overwhelming, even for the most hands-on board and manager. Rather than cut corners and risk burnout, many boards are turning to a relatively new breed of professional: the construction manager. This adds dollars to the bottom line, but when juggling projects, access, liability, and resident concerns, it often is the smartest way to go.
Plaza 400 knows all about tackling a complex project. The board at the 591-unit co-op wanted the superintendent to be on-site and kept up-to-speed on everything. "It was really the super who was dealing with this project every day. He was in constant contact with Doug [Weinstein, who was hired as construction manager]. Doug [a vice president with Akam Associates' Project Management Group] knew the project but no one knows the building better than the super. In order for this to go smoothly, everyone had to be involved," says board president Ana Giglio.
Access
Nora Weeks, the in-house executive manager of the 40-story co-op, gave residents regular updates. "The construction manager leaves when the project ends but the building manager stays after the work is done, so the more involved you are in the process, the better," she notes.
"Every time something is going on that affects the residents, a communication has to go out. There were times when heat was at a minimum when we were transitioning from one system to another. The engineer and construction manager would tell us when the information was due. I'd transcribe all the information and let the residents know," recalls Weeks.
While the workers did not need access to any apartments, they did need to alert homeowners when the garage and service entrance would be closed. It was shut down twice, both times on a Saturday to minimize the inconvenience. At one point, there were 20 people, including welders, as well as cranes at the site to bring in the boilers and chillers. The street had to be closed off one Saturday for equipment delivery.
Weeks presented regular updates to board members on the schedule, as well: "It was an engineering feat. All of the notifications about what was going on came from my office."
Keeping Them Involved
"Our shareholders are quite involved in the day-to-day happenings in our building. We had to keep them abreast of everything," says Weeks. Weinstein was invited to board meetings to answer questions about the latest developments. "It was good to do that because there were questions he was really best able to answer. Sometimes we are reading reports with a great deal of technical information and we need clarification to arrive at a decision," says Giglio.
In the end, there were no cost overruns or delays — common problems in capital plans. The cost of the chillers came in at what was earmarked. The building spent about $3 million on the project, money taken from its reserve fund.
Photo by Lorenzo Ciniglio
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