The right ways to put your projects on the fast track.

In the past year, there has been a trend towards fast tracking construction projects in all sectors, including residential, commercial and institutional. Build-outs that would traditionally take 10- to 12 weeks are being completed, per clients' requests, within eight weeks.

This is not to say that schedules have not been aggressive in prior years, but the criteria for so many projects today include much faster time frames than before. And in order to accomplish this, our project teams are strategizing scheduling, preordering materials in advance and organizing manpower to meet the deadlines.

There are dozens of factors contributing to this frenzied climate. To begin with, a steady escalation in oil prices has had a profound impact on construction costs for over a year, affecting everything from materials production to shipping. The aftermath of the hurricanes in the Gulf region has obviously exacerbated the situation, causing even greater increases in fuel costs. Moreover, a portion of building materials originally slated for the Northeast are being diverted down south for the rebuilding efforts.

Another key factor responsible for fast tracking of construction schedules is that tenants want to take advantage of the concessions being offered by landlords--especially the free rent periods. Owners are increasingly making aggressive deals with tenants who are anxious to occupy their space and, in turn, are passing aggressive goals for occupancy along to the contractors.

In addition, certain firms in the current New York market are growing at a rapid pace and, therefore, must locate, build-out and move into space as quickly as possible. All of this translates into fast-track preconstruction and construction schedules.

Clearly, everyone is gearing up as clients are trying to beat rising costs and accommodate their growth requirements--and as construction managers and general contractors, so is ACC. In the past four months, we have completed a 20,000 s/f, high-end renovation for one of Fifth Avenue's most famous luxury retailers in 16 short weeks and two Cold Stone Creamery stores within six weeks. We've finished the build-out of a 6,000 s/f hedge fund office in six weeks, two weeks ahead of their already aggressive eight-week schedule. The construction of prebuilts, entailing eight units and 13,000 s/f of space, for one of New York's largest office developers was completed in only eight weeks. For a prestigious law firm in the Chrysler Building, ACC constructed 80,000 s/f of high-end interior space in 13 weeks.

An obvious priority in all of these fast-track projects is making sure that a quality build-out is produced, while keeping the entire team focused on accelerating the client's schedule. We make this feasible in a number of ways--one of which includes direct communication with the client and/or end user during the planning stage with the design team. Our project teams are working closer and more directly with the clients than ever before. When we are part of the pre-construction planning with the design team, and we work with a designated team on the client side with the authority to make decisions, we are able to significantly reduce the construction time frame. Under these circumstances, clients understand the importance of quick decision-making when it comes to equipment, finishes, etc., so that delays are avoided entirely. As construction managers and general contractors, ACC presents the information and solutions to our clients that are necessary to make fast decisions so that they can benefit from quick occupancy.

Fast tracking is occurring in all industries and with all clients--from developers, landlords and retailers to office tenants and cooperative and condominium boards. This trend will continue as clients are rapidly growing, and the need to immediately occupy their space increases. Successfully fast tracking projects can be accomplished without compromising quality and safety by supplying the information required so that clients can effectively make quick decisions, executing a pre-purchasing plan and tightly managing the project schedule by planning ahead.

MICHELE MEDAGLIA

PRESIDENT

ACE CONSTRUCTION