The Ritz Carlton Club & Residences, Kapalua Bay

The Ritz-Carlton Club & Residences, Kapalua Bay exemplifies tropical luxury living within the renowned Kapalua Resort on Maui. Located on a spectacular 24-acre oceanfront property above one the finest beaches in the world, the community consists of eight buildings, including six residential mid-rise, cast-in-place, post-tensioned concrete structures (four 84-unit condominiums and two 62-unit timeshares), an arrivals building with a grand entry porte cochère, and a spa building. Other features include a gate house, outdoor grill and bar, Beach Club, 30,000 sq. ft. European spa with prefabricated huts, lush landscaping, and 8,500 sq. ft. pool/water feature areas.

The total developed area encompasses 19.73 acres. The timeshare buildings are 5 and 6 stories tall, with units ranging in size from 2,500 sq. ft. to over 2,900 sq. ft.; the residential buildings vary from 3 to 6 stories tall, with units ranging in size from 3,700 sq. ft. to over 5,300 sq. ft.. Below-grade parking structures are located under buildings one, two, and five, with a combined total of 159 parking stalls. Below-grade back-of-house areas are located under buildings three, four, and the arrivals building and are interconnected by concrete tunnels.

Sitework included utilities, hardscape, landscape, and surface parking for visitors.

After the project was found to be substantially over budget, Nordic PCL was hired for preconstruction services and saved the client more than $22 million by providing over a hundred value engineering ideas. Ideas included steel stud roof trusses instead of structural steel, alternate window, door, and trim manufacturers, an alternate light fixture package, and vertical closet heat pumps instead of outside air units. The project team also advised the client to centrally locate the electrical room to minimize conduit runs. The client subsequently approved a substantial number of these ideas, which enabled the project to proceed with construction.

Due to Nordic PCL's involvement from the preconstruction phase, the work was "fast-tracked" and the project team started prior to 100% construction drawings being issued. Civil and foundation work were started while design for interiors was being completed.

The discovery of human archeological remains on over three-quarters of the project site initially required hand screening approximately 9,000 cu. yds. of sand and dirt and would have taken more than 2 years. In addition, some of remains required entombing, which would have prevented a building from being built in that location. Both an extensive delay and downscaled plans would possibly have caused the project to be cancelled. However, Nordic PCL devised a more efficient monitored mechanical screening process, while still complying with strict cultural requirements of the Island Burial Council, and completed the process in 8 months. The project team also proposed shifting the problematic building by 15 ft. and relocating the utilities already in place. These proactive solutions were successful and saved the client immeasurable cost and over a year in delay.

During the civil work, an undepicted electrical line which served power to surrounding residential communities was found underground, interfering with the planned 30-ft. foundations of two buildings. Once the dangerous line was exposed, work could not be completed until it was either relocated or structurally supported. The local utility company said they were backlogged for 8 months, so Nordic PCL developed a shoring system in which strong cables tied the lines back to deadman posts drilled into the ground. By implementing this design, the project team was able to complete the foundations, without causing a costly 8-month delay.

When the project was approximately 75% complete, the client's primary financier, Lehman Brothers, went bankrupt, putting the future of the project in jeopardy. Although there were several negative local news articles erroneously claiming the project had shut down, Nordic PCL constantly reassured subcontractors and suppliers otherwise, to avoid negatively affecting the morale of the workers. While the client struggled to secure other financing, Nordic PCL offered to finance a portion of the project. Nordic PCL was able to extend progress payments for the time necessary, approximately 6 months. This prevented a shutdown of the project that would have cost at least $10-15 million in startup costs to resume and hurt many businesses in the process.