Attention to detail

Construction Consultants CollaborativeIn rescuing the Esplanade project, C3 president Rowland Hand has taken on his most interesting challenge yet, Jenn Monroe reports. Rowland Hand is anything but typical in his approach to planning and problem solving. As the president of the Fort Myers, FloridaÔÇôbased Construction Consultants Collaborative (C3), Hand has developed innovative processes and tools to ensure a project is successful from planning to completion. In fact, he prides himself in providing services that allow a developer to minimize or avoid many of the frequent and costly problems common to the industry. So why he said ÔÇ£yesÔÇØ when the principals at Grosse Pointe Development asked him to help them save the ailing $162 million Esplanade condominium project in downtown Orlando might seem a bit of a mystery. ÔÇ£This project is not the type I typically get involved with,ÔÇØ Hand admits, ÔÇ£nor did I get involved at the time I prefer to get involved. My focus is to not to allow projects to get to the state of this one.ÔÇØWhen Hand got involved, the original developer had lost the project to its lender, SNS Property Finance of The Netherlands, through what the lender called a ÔÇ£friendly foreclosure.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£They were upside down on the project, and the lender figured it out,ÔÇØ Hand says. It didnÔÇÖt begin that way. Six years ago Florida was in the midst of a condo boom, and the original developer decided to seize the opportunity. It even made a deal with the City of Orlando to rebuild a city garage so it could increase its footprint. At that point the project consisted of a 34-story, 400-unit condo project with a 12-level above-ground parking garage in the heart of downtown Orlando. Having no prior experience with a project such as this, the original developer would have benefited from HandÔÇÖs knowledge at these early stages, as he believes the pre-construction phase to be the most important of the three basic phases (pre-construction, construction and post-construction). ItÔÇÖs the optimal time to figure out costs and to look for and resolve any potential problem. ÔÇ£They didnÔÇÖt understand the complexities or how there is not a huge margin for error with this type of project,ÔÇØ Hand says. ÔÇ£Paying attention to detail is vital.ÔÇØCosts increased significantly while the developer was planning, but it continued to sell the condos at the original price. When construction began, 300 of the 400 units had been sold, all below cost. Thankfully for the developer, SNS Property Finance did not want the project to fail. ÔÇ£They didnÔÇÖt want to foreclose or have it sitting empty,ÔÇØ Hand says.So the lender took a unique approach and took over the project itself. Not having a presence itself in the US, SNS Property Finance sought the assistance of another client, Grosse Pointe Development, based in Fort Myers. ÔÇ£IÔÇÖve known the principals at Grosse Pointe for years,ÔÇØ Hand says. ÔÇ£This is based on first- and second-tier relationships.ÔÇØ Grosse Pointe asked Hand to do the day-to-day operations while they handled the marketing. That is exactly where Hand feels comfortable. ÔÇ£I get a project designed and in position so it markets well,ÔÇØ he says. ÔÇ£This is an interesting challenge.ÔÇØHand believes in a team approach to a project, with interactive communication from all team members. Each team member focuses on his or her areas of expertise and then makes contributions from that position. Hand tapped into his construction planning experience and began looking for a solution to the largest problem: total construction of the Esplanade was 75 percent complete and 300 of the units were sold. The first three floors, nearly 70,000 square feet of space, were designed for retail and commercial use but remain undeveloped. ÔÇ£We were looking for what might have the least impact,ÔÇØ Hand says, ÔÇ£for compatible uses with the lowest costs to retrofit.ÔÇØHand and Bob Hensley, CEO of Grosse Pointe, looked carefully at options and then had an idea. ÔÇ£What are still working in Florida are hotels.ÔÇØ The new Esplanade team worked together and decided that the middle third of the building would be the most appropriate for hotel usage, and it stopped all construction from the twelfth floor up. ÔÇ£Construction was at various stages of completion, so we froze it,ÔÇØ Hand says.Today two major hotel flags are vying for the space at the Esplanade. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖll look at their concepts and decide which one fits best,ÔÇØ Hand says. ÔÇ£At that point weÔÇÖll move forward with the redesign.ÔÇØWith a hotel in the middle third of the building, the Esplanade is poised to offer the first branded residence in the Orlando area. ÔÇ£Some others are planned, but weÔÇÖre way ahead of the curve,ÔÇØ Hand says.Residents would have access to special features, such as concierge services or a health club run by the hotel. ÔÇ£We could upgrade the condos a little in terms of finish level,ÔÇØ Hand says, ÔÇ£and that would allow us to significantly increase the price point for the balance of the condos.ÔÇØ While awaiting the proposals from the two hotels, Hand oversaw the completion of the parking garage in June. Of the 1,100 parking spaces, 380 belong to the city and help to mitigate a need for downtown parking. A rooftop deck and a swimming pool located on top of the parking garage also were finished at the start of July, and Hand received the certificate of occupancy for the core of the tower. ÔÇ£That was a nice milestone for us,ÔÇØ he says. ÔÇ£From a timing standpoint itÔÇÖs almost perfect.ÔÇØAlthough the loft units on floors four through eleven are done, Hand is waiting for the bottom three floors to be completed so residents donÔÇÖt need to walk through an active construction site. Once the hotel partner is secured, that work will begin, and Hand says he could see people moving in by the end of the year.As for the available condo units, Hand says, ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖll go back onto the market with a new product in early to mid fall. People donÔÇÖt start thinking about these types of things until September or October. We have the opportunity to sit back and do it right. I donÔÇÖt know that it makes sense to rush.ÔÇØ┬á