KM/Plaza is serving as the construction manager on the Marquis, a 1.2-million-square-foot luxury condominium and hospitality tower in Miami. Photo courtesy of Aerial Photography Inc.

 

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For Miami-based KM/Plaza, the key to completing a project on time and on budget is teamwork, President Brad Meltzer asserts. “A project is like an organism that really starts out small and continues to grow and expand,” he notes. “In order to cultivate the project, it takes a full team effort and it takes consistency. We’ve learned to always maintain our focus and consistency.”

Such is the case for The Marquis, a 1.2-million-square-foot luxury condominium and hospitality tower in Miami on which KM/Plaza is serving as construction manager. When completed in February 2009, the $200 million-plus project will stand at a staggering 708 feet, making it the second-tallest structure in South Florida.

With an original completion date set for May 2009, Meltzer says the company’s “greatest success to date” is its ability to stay ahead of schedule.

To accomplish this feat, project stakeholders have met for weekly face-to-face meetings to ensure all team members are on the same page.

The building, which now stands where a Howard Johnson restaurant and hotel once did, has required meticulous advance planning. Project Manager Pierre Desmarais explains this wouldn’t be possible without the company’s faithful subcontractors.

“The vast majority of the subcontractors have been fantastic,” he gushes. “There’s a reason why the project is so successful and it’s because of the synergy created by the entire team from ownership down to the subcontractors and vendors.

“The project is a success and I know it’s because we understand each other – we’re all on the same page. We’re a team – we’re Team Marquis.”

A Look Inside
As of September, Team Marquis had just completed the interiors on the 67-story project, which is being developed by Africa Israel, an international holding and investment company based in Yahud, Israel.

The first few levels consist of the lobby, and the hotel’s restaurant, bar and office. Levels five through 11 are 56 boutique-style hotel rooms, which will be run and operated by Rock­Resort, a Broomfield, Colo.-based resort hotel company that originally was owned by the Rockefeller family.

Levels 12 and 14 are the pool deck, spa and amenities deck. Levels 15-up consist of 306 condominium units, valued between $600,000 and $7 million. “Of the 67 stories, KM/Plaza is currently completed through level 56 [as of September],” Desmarais says. By the end of October and early November, we’ll be gearing up and getting ready to finalize all of our finishes.

“‘We will then be completing signage, fire alarm tests, commissioning and turn over, which will allow us to move forward with final inspections in January.”

Because the building is so tall, the process of obtaining a temporary certificate of occupancy (TCO) will require close attention from all parties – the City of Miami, fire department consultants, the owner and the KM/Plaza team, he adds.
 
Technology Brings Luxury
“There are so many different types of resorts in Miami that offer various features,” Desmarais notes. “And there are a few things worthy of noting that make The Marquis ‘The Marquis.’ The name alone generates a vision of perfection, precision and grandeur.”

First, The Marquis “has the fastest elevators south of Manhattan,” he declares. Running at 1,400 feet per minute, “I can get to the top in less than 30 seconds.” The elevators open directly into the majority of the units, using a keypad access system for security. Secondly, a smart system will be installed in every condo unit, which allows residents to operate their temperature controls, lighting systems and motorized curtains at the touch of a button.

In addition, the smart system interfaces with iPhones. “So, if you are anywhere in the world and you want to contact the concierge or adjust your air conditioning, you can do it from your iPhone,” Desmarais says.

However, a project as sophisticated as The Marquis doesn’t come without challenges. For starters, it’s not easy building a 1.2-million-square-foot structure on less than one acre, Desmarais says.

Another obstacle has been the project’s close proximity to the Port of Miami, one of the nation’s busiest ports.

“At many points during the project, our deliveries have been backed up on I-395, along with the other tractor trailers making their way to the Port of Miami,” Desmarais says. “This logistical coordination has required KM/Plaza to emphasize the importance of advance notice to every single vendor working on this project. There is literally no staging area.”

A Monumental Foundation
Installing the nearly 7,000 cubic yards of concrete for the project’s foundation was a massive task to say the least, Desmarais says. “You’ve got this extremely tall structure that’s like a stick, and in order to keep the building from settling and sinking into the ground, you have to build this huge foundation system with over 78 caissons,” he explains.

“Our foundation subcontractor, [Charles­town, Mass.-based] Treviicos Corp., bored a hole 130 feet deep by five feet in diameter in order to create the space needed for the steel shaft to be used. This shaft was placed in the hole in segments. The cage then gets reused numerous times over the course of the foundation operation.

“We even used one of these shafts to help in the dewatering process,”?he adds.

KM/Plaza had a difficult time dewatering the foundation after the hole was dug because of the project’s closeness to the ocean. “This was an experimental process that proved to be not only fruitful, but will now be the preferred method used by many,” Desmarais says. “We had about 3,800 gallons of discharge per minute to keep the hole from filling in with water, and it always varied between high and low tide.

“When dewatering is performed, it is necessary to go through a filtration system and dewater back into the bay,” he continues. “However, we were required to contain all of the sediment.

“When you pump that much water and you go through a pipeline through the city that has all this collateral – sediment from other buildings – it was extremely hard for us, nearly impossible to do.”

When it finally came time to pour the concrete – 6,800 cubic yards to be exact – contractors poured into a 20-foot-thick foundation over a continuous 12-hour period in June 2006. KM/Plaza and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based concrete subcontractor Form Works required the private use of several local concrete plants to achieve this milestone.  

“When we poured the foundation mat, it was an extremely big event,” Desmarais recalls. “When it’s all said and done, the mat pour was like a $24 million event if you factor in the man-hours, the reinforcing steel and all of the coordination required to keep the water out.”

Working in Hurricane Season
Protecting the project from damage nearly became a reality, no thanks to a rough hurricane season this year.

“Ironically, we got real lucky with a couple of storms,” Desmarais notes. “We had Hurricane Ike, Hurricane Gustav and a tropical storm that was forecasted to be Hurricane Fay.

“All three came within 150 miles of the site, and when you have a job this tall, this big and at this location, you have to make decisions, because you can’t just wait until the last day.

“We went into hurricane mode all three times, but they were so close to us in timeframe – all three storms were within the same month – so when we prepared for the second one, we were already 60 or 70 percent there,” he continues, noting Hurricane Ike was the most threatening.

“The storm was supposed to be a category 4, and when you’re preparing for a storm of that size, you have to empty out the office. You’re living in a trailer for four years with all of your documents in there, and you can’t put a dollar value on all of your documentation. Luckily, we didn’t have to. At the last minute, the storm shifted south.”

The Marquis’ exterior is entirely clad with hurricane-code impact-resistant glass, sourced from Viracon of Owatonna, Minn. The installation went “extremely well,” Desmarais says. “With hundreds of man-hours of coordination making sure that when you cut the glass, you have to factor in opening sizes and make sure those openings were 10 by 10 – it has to be perfect.

“Gamma USA [of North Miami Beach, Fla.] did a fantastic job coordinating with all of the trades that participated,”?he adds.

Building Relationships
After spending nearly four years working together on The Marquis, KM/Plaza and its subcontractors have developed close relationships.

“When you’re logging in 50 or 60 hours a week and you’re in the field over three years, you spend almost more time with these people then you do your own family,” Desmarais notes.

Relationships that stemmed from working on The Marquis “were made over time with face-to-face meetings and discussions, and forging a true sense of trust and cooperation,” Meltzer explains. “As a local builder with local ownership, we’re able to meet with the owners, with the subcontractors and have face-to-face relationships that some of our competitors can’t.

“That’s the only way to keep the project on target and to make sure everyone’s focused,” Meltzer adds. Desmarais says conversations are extremely important to keep the communication lines open.

“A lot of this disconnection in construction is failure to communicate,” he admits. “Construction is such a dynamic industry. Things are constantly changing and if you don’t adapt to these changes, the next thing you know you’ll have a monetary or scheduling issue. Time is money, but the most valuable currency is relationships.”