Photo courtesy Largo Concrete

The client originally asked for the entire project to be completed in a compressed nine-month schedule, which required contractors to work at the site six days a week, 10 hours a day for those first nine months. However, due to COVID-19 shutdowns, the team gained an additional 13 months to work on the project. Taking advantage of the construction timeline extension, the client opted to expand the project's scope by adding a large number of venue upgrades and audio/video enhancements.

The new additions by the owner required more coordination on the part of the project team so the new items could be incorporated into the planned construction buildout. First, such a high-profile project required Rudolph and Sletten to coordinate with a number of entities, including San Diego Symphony, Port of San Diego, Coastal Commission, City of San Diego, San Diego Convention Center, Seaport Village, Hilton Hotels and Marriott Hotels. This necessitated extensive communication and many in-person meetings to clarify the wishes and requirements of each stakeholder and to ensure all were kept informed of how the project was being designed and approached in order to meet their expectations.

Photo by Darren Bradley

The project team sent out meeting minutes to all parties involved to ensure clarity of the items discussed and track all action items. Every month, the team released a “community update” document to all major businesses in the area to inform them of progress at the site and any potential impacts the work might have to the surrounding vicinity.

To enforce quality and craftsmanship, Rudolph and Sletten utilized a “zero punch list approach.” As items and sections of the project were nearing completion, the project team would walk the spaces and ask the trades to make any corrections necessary as work progressed. This ensured that when the completed project was walked with the architect and owner, the number of last-minute punch list items was minimized.