March 11, 2021 – When faced with a renovation project at an occupied senior living community during a global pandemic, Plano-Coudon answered the call with a health and safety plan to make it happen.
In May of 2019, Plano-Coudon began the renovation to the amenities building, Village Square, at Oak Crest Village, an Erickson Living Senior Living community in Parkville.
Due to the need for the building to remain active, the work was split into three phases. Phase One, the most extensive phase, included a Cafe, Classroom, Pub, Billiards area, Lounge area, Medical Center, and Administrative Offices. Phase Two included the Restaurant seating area, Training Room, Craftroom, Corridors, main Lobby on the Terrace Level, and the CVS shell. Phase Three focused on the Medical Specialist area.
On track for a July 2020 completion date for Phase Two of the project, COVID-related delays began. Although the project did not shut down, many factors affected the schedule, including certain contractors electing not to mobilize because of the circumstances, leading to reduced manpower, inspections pushed because it was a senior living facility, etc. The team continued to push through and aimed to get as much work done as possible.
These pandemic circumstances forced Plano-Coudon to adapt to these new challenges. To access the facility, workers had to go through the common spaces where residents were. Because of this, the team installed a temporary stairwell on the outside. This limited the traffic through the resident’s area, letting workers and inspectors get direct access to the work area. This modification helped everyone feel more comfortable and safer.
Project Manager, Merissa Detwiler, explained “perhaps the biggest challenge was having to partition everyone into certain areas, ensuring all workers were taking that exterior stairwell and following the rules. Everyone on site adapted well and followed guidelines.”
Based on CDC recommendations, hand washing stations were installed outside, masks were mandated, hand sanitizer everywhere and a cleaning company came in to sanitize all touchpoints every day for three months. The practice of temperature checks throughout the campus added an additional level of comfort for everyone on site.
Despite the delays, reduced manpower, and the necessary precautions, the project was completed in early January 2021.
PM Detwiler summed it up well “the residents and Erickson Living Development were great. They understood the challenges we were up against and were wonderful to work with. The owner is happy, and the residents are excited with all of the improvements, so the project was a success!”
