Project Team
Owner: Royal Palm Holdings
Location: West Palm Beach
Cost: $24.7 million
Contractor: Suffolk Construction Co., West Palm Beach
Architect: Sieger Suarez Architectural Partnership, Miami

The Esplanade Grande is a 16-story high-rise condominium located near the Meyer Amphitheater and Intracoastal Waterway in downtown West Palm Beach. The 329,000-sq.-ft. building consists of 62 condominiums, ranging from 1,200 to 7,000 sq. ft., and four levels of parking for 123 vehicles.

The main entrance consists of a two-story-high lobby along with 6,700 sq. ft. of retail space. Other features include a cast-stone entry area, elegant lobby finishes, fourth-floor spa, roof-top swimming pool and roof observation deck.

Preconstruction activities began with the demolition of several one- and two-story buildings. This required great care because an operating Fidelity Federal Bank building was located approximately 6 in. from the jobsite.

The building was supported by a 5-ft.-thick concrete mat slab. Basement-level parking began 15 ft. below street level. Dewatering was a major issue because the project was as much as 10 ft. below the water table.

An interesting hurdle involved the city of West Palm Beach's requirement that no ductwork or drywall be installed on a floor until it was proven to be dry during rainstorms. Typical high-rise construction schedules don't allow for installation of the roofing and exterior stucco and windows prior to installation of ductwork and drywall.

To accommodate this, Suffolk prepared a detailed temporary waterproof plan. Measures included sealing every pipe and duct floor opening and installing temporary waterproofing over the elevator shafts. Instead of starting stucco work from the roof and working down, Suffolk had its contractors start at the 11th floor on stucco base coat only.

This allowed the contractors to begin ductwork and drywall on the lower floors while the building shell construction proceeded on the upper floors. This plan enabled the team to maintain schedule while satisfying the city's concerns about water intrusion.

Another challenge was the rooftop deck, which involved the phased construction of the structural concrete deck, pool walls, planter and 15-ft.-high perimeter walls.