Rosen's Shingle Creek Resort Rises

By Debra Wood

The 1,495-room Rosen Shingle Creek resort and convention center in Orlando opened in September, five months ahead of schedule to coincide with owner Harris Rosen's birthday.

"The time frame was the most challenging piece of the construction," said Bruce Holmes, executive vice president of general contractor WELBRO Building Corp. of Maitland. "It's a large building to build in that period of time, and we built it during periods of rapid material cost increases and a labor workforce that is thin, based on the amount of construction going on in Central Florida."

The 230-acre resort includes a 1.1 million-sq.-ft., 14-story hotel tower, with rooms of about 440-sq.-ft. each and six wings off the main trunk; a 640,000-sq.-ft. convention center, with a 95,000-sq.-ft. column-free ballroom; a full-service 13,000-sq.-ft. spa and health club; and an 18-hole golf course that wraps around the hotel. An octagonal atrium and rotunda connects the hotel with the convention center. The resort is Rosen Hotels & Resorts of Orlando's seventh Central Florida lodging facility.

Helman Hurley Charvat Peacock/Architects of Orlando created an Old Florida theme for the property located near Shingle Creek. A headwater of the Florida Everglades, the creek earned its moniker due to early settlers using the waterway to ship cypress for use as roofing material. The area near the creek will stay in its natural state, with walking paths through the vegetation for guests. A glass facade in the lobby overlooks the golf course and pools.

After benchmarking best facilities from across the country, Rosen Hotels incorporated spacious prefunction spaces, registration areas, kitchen facilities capable of quickly serving large groups and the open ballroom.

"The column-free ballroom, from an operation standpoint, is a tremendous feat," said Mark Davidson, senior project coordinator for HHCP. "Everyone who comes in, whether hosting a show or thinking about booking a show, is very happy they don't have to work around columns."

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WELBRO broke ground on the poured-in-place concrete-frame hotel tower and the tilt-wall and structural-steel convention center in November 2004, said Holmes. The resort sits on a large spread-footing foundation. The hotel tower has heavy-gauge structural-stud framing. Both buildings are clad with EIFS.

The project required 68,500 cu. yds. of concrete, 3,200 tons of reinforcing steel, 650,000 lbs. of post-tension cable, 410,000 sq. ft. of tilt-wall panel and 4,800 tons of structural steel.

Structural engineers from Mitzo Engineering of Maitland used cambered steel trusses to create the open ballroom. Each truss is 10-ft. in height and spans 200-ft. left to right.

"They are bowed up in the center," Davidson said. "When they place the dead weight of the roof, which includes the HVAC equipment and other machinery on the roof, the cambered bow of the truss flattens out. In that way they are able to make it longer and still support all of the weight it needs to support."

The trusses sit atop 9.25-in. thick, 40-ft. high concrete tilt walls, Davidson said. Most of the concrete sections are 20-ft. or less in width.

Full Speed Ahead

The contractor created two teams, one for the hotel tower and one for the convention center, working simultaneously, Davidson said.

"When we signed the work with the subs and vendors, we got the principals of those firms to personally commit to the project, knowing it would be fast-paced," said Holmes, adding that crews worked weekends and extended hours.

In addition, Rosen Hotels stepped in to handle a tremendous amount of the construction tasks with existing employees or through Rosen-hired subcontractors, Davidson said.

"That freed up the contractor to put more manpower on the larger disciplines of the building," Davidson said. "It was a concerted effort on all parts to do it."

Rosen Hotels' employees or contractors completed the framing, drywall, painting, trim and carpet and furniture installation. Hotel employees were available to work all three shifts, said Davidson. He added that Rosen crews utilized lifts, scaffolding and other tools on site after the major subcontractors left for the day.

"It kept his costs tremendously down," Davidson said. "He built this facility for 60 percent of what the facility would have cost for someone else who was doing it through a contractor."

Even so, Garritt Toohey, vice president of Rosen Hotels, pegged costs at more than $300 million. This is the first property the company has built that required some short-term financing, which was needed to speed up construction from the original finish date in February 2007. The completion date was moved up to create the birthday celebration.

Owner Involvement

Owner Harris Rosen's involvement began from the time he purchased the land and donated 20 acres of it to the University of Central Florida for the Rosen College of Hospitality Management. HHCP crafted the master plan for the property.

"[Rosen] was extremely involved in the design of the school and resort, down to every detail," said Michael Chatham, senior vice president and director of design for HHCP. "He questioned and challenged us on every decision. He is a tough customer, and on the entire project, he wanted to make sure we were getting the most from every dollar spent. He did an incredible job."
That close involvement in design carried through to construction. Rosen walked the site daily, monitoring progress and pushing the project along.

"People shared their frustrations and concerns, and we could nip them in the bud," said Rosen.

Rosen has compiled a book featuring photos of workers on the diverse team that took the project from concept through construction. Workers hailed from more than 40 countries. Rosen plans to distribute the thousands of copies on order to contractors to give potential clients and to resort guests.

Rosen also attended hundreds of meetings with suppliers and subcontractors WELBRO had selected based on price or past performance, Holmes said. Toohey added that the company was able to get price reductions from firms that felt working on the Rosen project would lead to other work.

"We try to start with a number and drive that number lower as we work the process," he said.

Rosen involved himself in purchasing elevator equipment, air conditioning, paint, electrical switchgear, fire alarms, toilets, steel and light fixtures.

"It's a great experience for us," Rosen said. "When we take over, that building is our responsibility. We have to know the plumbing. We have to know about the electrical system. We have to know about the air conditioning and heating. We have to know how everything is installed."

Holmes met formally twice weekly with subcontractors and kept close watch on progress.

The strategy seems to have worked. Holmes said WELBRO has not faced any disputes with subcontractors. WELBRO also involved the Orange County building and fire departments at the start of construction and as the building neared completion to avoid any surprises.

Rosen envisions corporations and associations will seek out Shingle Creek as a place that can accommodate groups as large as 1,500 to 2,000 in a single hotel, Toohey said. It's off to a good start. The property secured 1 million advance room reservations in August, had a conference booked within days of opening and was busy from day one.

Useful Sources:
Rosen Shingle Creek
www.RosenShingleCreek.com