Since the early days of the timeshare industry, Florida has played host to about one-third of all U.S. timeshare resorts. With some of these first timeshare properties nearing 30 years in age, many of their buildings’ exteriors have suffered from various maladies caused by a combination of age- and weather-related issues due to their coastal location on the beach, ocean, or Gulf. While most resort managers and HOAs know what is required to renovate the inside of a resort, upgrading the exterior is an entirely different challenge.

Alan Haughey is well aware of this challenge. He founded ConTech Construction in 1993 in Orlando, Fla. The company was initially a concrete sub-contractor, serving clients in Central Florida. About 15 years ago, ConTech landed its first resort restoration project on the Coast. When restoration projects for existing structures began to generate half of their business, the company rebranded itself into ConTech Restoration to focus on restoration of oceanfront resorts.

In concert with their recent rebranding, the company broadened its geographic range of work, expanded services to include painting and waterproofing and increased marketing efforts with a greater focus on the hospitality industry. Today, ConTech is one of the most active general contractors for existing structure renovation in Florida.

In providing restoration work for timeshare resorts and hotels, ConTech Restoration transforms worn-out and “tired” facilities into beautiful, like-new properties. Deciding on what needs to be done on a building is the first critical step.

Explains Haughey, “Each building has its own set of engineering needs and must be engineer-driven. A good engineer on the team will help the owner prioritize what needs to be done. The team can’t be successful if the work expected to be done is based on an arbitrary budget without respect to the actual condition of the building.”

Robert Spence is a real estate attorney, Realtor and licensed CAM manager, specializing in coastal renovations. In 2005, he worked with the St. Augustine Beach & Tennis Club condominiums, which had a problem with corroded balconies. “ConTech tore off 58 balconies and replaced them. They did a fast-track renovation with minimum guest disruption and completed the new balconies on time and within the agreed price and – most importantly – thoroughly approved by a coastal engineer,” said Spence.

At each project’s inception, ConTech meets with owners, contractors, architects, and engineers to develop strategies, evaluate materials and repair methods so the job is thoroughly planned from the beginning. Frequent planning meetings allow the owner to refine their choices during the pre-construction period. The close collaboration between the owner, contractor, design team and construction team removes risk, animosity and expense from the project, resulting in a team effort with everyone working smarter and more efficiently.

Common restoration requests from condo and timeshare properties include balcony replacement, new windows and doors, waterproofing, storm and hurricane damage repair and repairs to parking structures. ConTech partners with clients to choose the right products and scope of work for their budget. During any construction project, there is a major concern over the potential of rental income loss. But aggressive schedules and superb planning result in speedy construction with beautifully restored buildings. The company saved one client $1,500,000 in rental income by finishing the project in less time than their competitors could.

ConTech’s $6.5 million restoration of the Royal Floridian Resort in Ormond Beach, Fla., for Spinnaker Resorts is just one of many “magic makeovers” the company has recently completed. Alexi Bairstow, operations manager for the Royal Floridian Resort said, “Initially we thought the work would require 12 to 14 months and we’d have to close the building for an entire year, but after meeting with Alan and his team, we were delighted to learn they could pull it off in nine months!”

ConTech completed total balcony replacement, window and door replacement, built two swimming pools and a spa, rebuilt the entire pool deck, painted the entire building, plus much more. Adds Bairstow, “Their greatest accomplishment was that the additional cost in our change orders was just 1.5 percent from the original budget, amazing for such a large renovation. We re-opened the resort last October to an overwhelmingly positive response from the owners, who understood that the completed work by ConTech would play a major role in protecting their investment.”

Other work for the timeshare industry was completed at:

• The Islander Beach Resort in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., where ConTech performed concrete repairs, painting, patched stucco and coated balconies.
• The Georgian Inn in Ormond Beach where ConTech replaced stucco on entire exterior walls to stop water migration into the building.
• The Royal Palm, New Smyrna Beach, for Kosmas Realty. Here, they completed concrete and stucco repair, as well as painting.
• Waterside Resort in Hilton Head, S.C., where they re-caulked and painted two buildings.

Their bonding capacity of over $10,000,000 is proof of the company’s stability and reliability. One owner saved $82,000 on a performance bond because after spending five minutes on the phone with ConTech Restoration, the banker was so confident that the project would be completed on time and on budget that he waived the bond requirement.

With over 30 years of experience in the construction industry, Haughey holds general contractor’s licenses in Florida and Virginia and serves as a director of the Central Florida Chapter of the International Concrete Repair Institute. He is past president of the American Concrete Institute, Central Florida Chapter.

ConTech Restoration will work with properties needing concrete restoration, new windows and doors or painting. They can also help to minimize customer dislocation, loss of rental income and safety concerns for guests.

Concludes Haughey, “At the core of our company is the imperative to do the right thing, treat everyone with respect and take personal responsibility for everything we do. Working collaboratively with our clients makes the work enjoyable and rewarding for everyone involved.”

www.contechrestoration.com

Marge Lennon is owner of Lennon Communications Group, Inc., in Fort Myers, Florida. She can be contacted for more information at (239) 482-3891 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . www.lennoncommunications.com