Situation:
AMB Property Corporation hired Krusinski Construction Company in October, 2004, to demolish a dated structure in Elk Grove Village and replace it with a 121,000-square-foot spec warehouse. Lease negotiations with a prospective tenant, which had held up the project for more than three years, were off at the time. Nevertheless, AMB chose to begin construction because winter was coming and management wanted a completed building by March 31 for third-quarter reports. By January with construction underway, the lease was back on. Top management of AMB and the tenant, Shenker Logistics, had an agreement in principle and left it up to local managers to work out the details.

Challenge:
Under the lease, the build-out would include 27 (rather than the original 24) truck docks, a mezzanine, offices, additional bathrooms and a lunchroom with coffee bar. While AMB had a March 31 deadline, Shenker had no time constraints. In fact, Shenker’s existing space was rent free, which represented a disincentive for finishing the project in a timely fashion. Krusinski Vice President Mike Metz was charged with securing all the tenant approvals necessary to bring the job in on schedule.

Solution:
Metz instituted a strict critical-path management process, outlining every decision that had to be made and when. Twice weekly meetings were held to go through open items and keep to the project schedule. In addition, Krusinski’s project superintendent developed a strong working relationship with the Village of Elk Grove to assure that permits and approvals were secured on time.

Results:
The building was completed by March 31. Both landlord and tenant are pleased with the final results.