The biggest challenge of the Vista St. Clair renovation was the safety concerns that came with working within an occupied residential building. The scope required R&H crews to enter each unit several times so strong communication skills were critical when keeping tenants informed. Our R&H team introduced photo ID badges for each team member to wear throughout the duration of this process. These badges helped keep tenants informed about who was in their unit and which subcontractor they worked for. Additionally, weekly meetings were held with our project team and a tenant liaison to convey which units were going to be accessed and any schedule changes that were going to take place. All noisy work and work involving unit entries were completed during working hours, 8 am to 5 pm, to disrupt tenants as little as possible.

Another challenge our project team faced early in the project schedule was the need for an infallible phasing plan. The R&H project team came up with a phasing plan that divided the building envelope into three different phases. Each phase tackled one and a half sides of the building exterior and was created in a way that would allow our teams to use material lifts on the flattest areas of the surrounding streets. The phasing plan was essential to completing this project within the set schedule and was also essential when working around tenants and keeping the building owner informed about the location of where construction was taking place.