Property Management: Case Histories
FAST WORK AFTER A FIRE
A major fire caused considerable damage several years ago to the top floor at 38-50 West 9th Street, three adjoining five-story buildings constructed in the late 1800s on a tree-lined Greenwich Village block.The buildings share a common roof and boiler, with the main damage sustained on the top floors where the ceilings caved in.
Alerted while attending the annual meeting of another property, Tomas Padilla, Cooper Square Realty Vice President, responded and immediately realized that he had to bring stability and a sense of calmness to the residents and arrange emergency repairs to prevent further damage. Working into the next morning, Padilla brought a fire reconstruction company to the scene and convinced a lumber yard to open to deliver plywood. By 8 a.m. the windows had been boarded, the hallways cleaned and a temporary roof installed. Firefighters said it was the fastest clean-up they had seen.
Padilla then focused on the continued management of the property and communicating with residents. Cooper Square Project Management was brought in to organize and manage the reconstruction. The Project Management team created a plan to finance the work and negotiated with the insurance company to get partial payments to start the repairs rather than having to wait for the entire settlement.
The project took about one-year, but came in on-time and within budget.