November 2008 - Stan Barton
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Amenity Construction: Dream or Nightmare
Stan Barton, Project Executive, BECK Internacional de Mexico
Many of our developer clients believe that their project’s amenities are some of the most important elements in making it an exciting investment and dream come true for their customers. When deciding what amenities to include, the visionary developer has to balance the benefit and the cost of each one, including the construction cost, whether it is a designer golf course, health spa or even “Green” design elements. The goal of this piece is to explain the importance of timing and communication in the analysis and construction process for amenities, and provide a few nightmare examples when the process breaks down.
A basic key to any efficient construction is adequate contractor planning. I am aware that “contractor planning” may seem like an oxymoron to some. There is a funny but telling scene in the movie, Naked Gun 33 1/3, when the villain explains to the hostage heroine his strategy to destroy the universe. She asks, “How could you come up with such a horrible plan?” The villain’s response: “Well, I worked 12 years as a building contractor.” Seriously, my definition of a good, experienced contractor is one who has done enough work to have made mistakes and knows how to avoid repeating them.
Our company, Beck Internacional de Mexico, has worked in several residential-hospitality-resort projects in Mexican coastal areas and currently is involved in four important projects in the Baja. Unfortunately, we are frequently called in after chaos has driven the project to the brink of disaster. We should all learn from the kind of errors that can delay an otherwise attractive project’s success.
TIMING: There is one constant in all the developments we are currently working on: the project depicted in the artist renderings and master plan is not exactly the one being built. Change is a given on any large job and successful developers have the courage to recognize when their original vision is not being embraced by the market that a change is necessary.
Improvements identified in a timely manner can easily be accommodated in the construction budget and schedule, but we consider it a mortal sin to have to change or demo completed work. Selfishly, we contractors want everything defined up front so that we can develop schedules and logistics plans, and have time to efficiently source materials and manpower. That is not practically possible, since our client has to consider budget, market studies, government regulations, etc. which may take time. Nonetheless, the goal to bring clarity during the design development is noble, and some characteristics of the project absolutely need to be defined early.
One of those is “Green Building” or “Sustainability,” the latest hot issue in design and construction. In general, even the final users who have money to burn have a concern about ecological issues. All of our clients at least consider establishing environmental-friendly criteria for design and construction. The extent that the project will be committed to an environmental approach needs to be determined early so that the ensuing design effort can reflect the best materials and methods. The project builder, construction manager or consultant needs to offer comparative pricing and schedules so that alternatives can be fairly weighed. It is extremely expensive to “retrofit” a project to make it meet higher ecological standards.
Although it can be complicating, it is not unusual for projects to change the list of “freebies” after many units had been sold and occupied. Although frequently necessary to boost sales, human nature causes the initial buyers to immediately feel that they did not get such a good deal after all. From a construction perspective, this can imply last minute changes to partially completed units. It should be said that “production” is the name of the game, and all these changes result in slower and more costly execution, not to mention unusual design and construction challenges: cutting an important support wall to add a picture window, a Jacuzzi where your master closet used to be, etc. These changes are not completely avoidable, but we should at least be aware that the amenity menu definition should be prominent on the agenda for the early planning meetings.
Another timing consideration that can affect the construction is the decision to build some amenities early and use them as sales tools. You may not want your infinity pool to have a clear view of our portable toilets. Logistically, the builder needs to plan to give access to that spa or golf tee, and what the potential customer experiences, as well as noise and safety, should all be considerations in the construction strategy.
If the exact design for the golf course, beach club, spa and other large permanent amenities cannot be defined - and it rarely can be in the early phases - some careful thought should go into defining the size requirements and location. At least that way the contractor can know in advance where he can stage his offices, storage areas and develop access routes.
COMMUNICATION: It seems like in any list of construction-related issues the “C-word” pops up. Another important C-word is “coordination,” but that usually means good communication. Regarding amenities, I am especially referring to issues we have encountered due to lack of effective communication between the design/construction department and the sales department, other consultants, amenity operators and governmental authorities.
We have experienced last-minute changes to construction necessitated by promises that were made to clients by those closing the sale of the condo or house. It is human nature to agree to throw in a $2000 fireplace to sell a $1,000,000 condo, even when there is no place to put a chimney. If this strategy for sales incentives is not limited it makes for highly inefficient construction and costly rework…and total chaos if the sales execs are not communicating with the designer and builder.
Adding water features to a project is a particularly ripe area for problems, especially if affected work is not coordinated by the respective consultants and contractors. Swimming pools and fountains are often designed artistically with little input from the structural engineer and the contractor. Putting a glass bottom pool over a bedroom or bar may seem like a good idea until it is filled with water. Excavation for ponds and pools needs to be coordinated with the designer and contractor of the underground utilities. I cannot count the number of water features that I have seen converted to planters due to impossible waterproofing conditions. Then there is the Jacuzzi lined with magnets to bring energy healing! Only with a little communication and pre-planning are these amenities possible to execute smoothly.
The Spa industry has spawned some prestigious brand names for professional spa operators. In the future the name on the spa may make that extra difference, like a well-known golf champion’s support of a golf course. However, we have experienced that the ultimate operators of spas, fitness centers and restaurants frequently have their own criteria for the facility. If there is no communication between the operator and the designer before the facility gets built, it is like hitting the lottery if what actually has been built satisfies their needs. More than likely there will be rework costs and delays while everyone goes back to “square one.”
Another communication problem seems to be in changing the plan that was approved by the government authorities, without prior notice. In Mexico we have learned an expression: “It is better to seek forgiveness than permission.” Those of us that have worked on the other side of the border would never dream of this kind of sidestepping of regulations in Los Angeles, Dallas or New York, but somehow there seems to be a tendency to think it is OK south of the border. In Mexico it was once possible to play dumb and get by with something, but the Mexican authorities are professional and have gotten stricter about enforcing their requirements. The best way to avoid rework is to make sure the local authorities are on board before you start. Mexican authorities tend to be conservative but flexible once they understand the importance of an amenity to the project success, but they consider it disrespectful to try to go around their authority to add something that they have not approved.
In conclusion, efficiency simply boils down to timely planning and communication. The team members involved in the planning process can provide useful input and ideas gained from experience to help assure the project success. The quality and experience of those members will determine how successful. The recent market turmoil only makes the need to be competitive that much more urgent. Attractive and well-executed amenities can make the difference.
BECK Internacional de Mexico is a Mexico City based design, construction and construction management company. It is a member of the Dallas-based BECK Group, with 96 years of construction experience and $900 million dollars of annual revenues.
Stan Barton is a Project Executive with Beck, building important projects exclusively in Mexico in the past 15 years, and in the US since 1972. For more information please visit beckgroup.com or contact humbertotrevino@beckgroup.com or call us in Mexico City at 011-52-552-623-0325 (from USA).
Stan Barton
011-52-552-623-0325
stanbarton@beckgroup.com
http://www.beckgroup.com