The Facets of the Retail Construction Sector 'Owner Perspective'

My specialty is a project manager owner’s representative. I manage all construction and remodels at Tilly’s retail store. We have 240 stores throughout the US. My role is similar to that of a general contractor project manager; we both manage architects, engineers, contracts, schedules, budgets, bidding, reading blueprints, correspondence, and warranty issues. While they are busy managing their superintendent and sub-contractors, I am busy looking at construction leasing exhibits from landlord developers, collecting tenant allowance, meeting with store operations my end user, handling one-off special projects like recladding storefronts, tracking deliveries, ordering products from vendors and managing delivery of owner furnished supplies to the job site.

My general contractors tell me my current role is changing. My current status in other major retailers is relying more on architects and outsourced project managers to do their jobs. This has led to inconsistencies in the blueprint drawings, change orders and jobs missing schedules.

The blueprint drawings are the most important part of a retailer’s job. If the drawings have errors that are not corrected once determined, they will continue to be an unreliable source of buildability. General contractors following the drawings are incorrectly building details, and once brought to the owner's rep, they need to be revised, which costs time and money. Then, the same detail shows up on the next set of drawings because the owner's rep does not take the time to demand the architect fix the template set, causing change orders on the next job. Reading and understanding blueprints is detrimental for an owner's representative as this is where most change orders occur.

Errors and omissions, unforeseen conditions, and building inspectors are among the top three change orders in my retail world. Errors and omissions are easy to eliminate by reading every note on the drawings, following every note to every detail, and making sure there are no inconsistencies. This is done before or during permit review and added in during the owner's comments period to allow for a clean set of drawings.

Unforeseen conditions can catch one unaware; however, I make it a practice to look very closely at the survey photos and look for these top items. 1) Does the mall bulkhead consist of a solid beam? This may not allow for lighting or power for signage and may need to lower the soffit. 2) What is the lowest obstruction, and which way do the joists run? If putting in a ceiling or open concept, a surprise sprinkler main under ceiling height or interrupting the HVAC run, it can be costly if not known and included ahead of time. 3) What's under that flooring material? Our stores have polished concrete, but if we take a space and it has carpet, it's always good to know what layers are under that carpet; you don't want to be surprised by VCT flooring, wood floors or even Terrazzo when you’re not expecting it. Building inspectors are there for everyone's safety and sometimes will add unexpected scope to your job. There is not much you can do in this area if you don't want them to come back and fail your finals over something minor. However, I have been successful in asking for the code or having my engineer produce documentation. I have succeeded with the above, consistently maintaining under 3 percent in change orders.

There are advantages to using outsourced project managers for the retailer. Typically, it is cheaper because they are not on the payroll, are apparently more educated than most new owners' reps, and can be released without notice if the workload slows down. However, a good in-house PM offers continuity of the brand, any changes in store design are incorporated in all drawings going forward, held accountable in a way that promotes synergy with other business partners, hand-offs to maintenance are streamlined with lighting guides identifying each lamp in each fixture and providing vendors names and products for warranty repairs. Value engineering is another topic that, as an owner rep, understanding what store design intends gives more of an insight as to what materials can be substituted for the same look with the same quality at a lower price.

Retail construction is not going away, and trends for new brands and rollouts are happening every day; my confidence in what I do in my career has led me to mentor as many as I can, and I encourage others to do the same so we can breathe life into the new shopping experience.