Closed valet services, temperature checks upon entry, spaced-out pool chairs and capacity limits in elevators are all now part of a typical day at South Florida luxury residential towers amid coronavirus.
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Continuum on South Beach, Marquis Miami and Brickell Flatiron |
The building became “mask-only” very
early on, Schwartz said, when officials were encouraging
people not to use masks. The 292-unit building also includes
a 130-key hotel. At any one time, there are about 400
residents living there, he said.
The Marquis tore up its pool deck and replaced the furniture
and umbrellas. Most outside vendors were barred from
entering, as were most move-ins and move-outs.
By the end of 2020, Schwartz said he “would not be a bit
surprised” if the association spends $150,000 on expenses
that include purchasing hand sanitizer towers that take
someone’s temperature and hand sanitizer pumps with iPad-like
displays showing customized programming. Expenses also cover
improvements to the lobby, and signage for the elevators and
other common spaces. Schwartz said the building is also
paying bonuses to employees that have been working during
the pandemic, and has continued to pay those who didn’t feel
comfortable coming to work.
“The board took the position we would spend the money that
needed to be spent to be well prepared to go through the end
of this year,” he said.
When the pool is allowed to reopen, cushions will be
alternated to space people out. And if “worst comes to
worst, we will close the pool deck again,” Schwartz added.
Associations and management companies with the budgets to do
so are also enacting increased cleaning. Alex Martin, vice
president of KW Property Management & Consulting, said the
company is making recommendations such as cleaning elevators
every 15 minutes, checking residents’ and guests’
temperatures, and installing touchless entry. Front desk
staff should be wearing gloves at all times, and changing
them frequently. Management should consider screening
residents who come in with luggage to identify residents
with quarantine obligations.
KWPMC is also making recommendations about maintaining HVAC
systems, and keeping gyms and pools clean. At the same time,
residential buildings throughout Florida are planning for
hurricane season, Martin added.
The company manages 90,000 condo units in Florida, including
the Marquis, Brickell Flatiron, Eighty Seven Park in North
Beach, Brickell Heights and 900 Biscayne.
“I want these buildings clean like a hospital,” Martin said.
“I want them better than a hospital.”
The Continuum, a two-tower, 522-unit luxury condo
development in Miami Beach, purchased between 3,000 and
4,000 masks, and provided antibody testing to more than 400
residents and employees, said Keith Marks, a real estate
agent who is president of the master condo association. The
property has spent about $25,000 on equipment and supplies
since the outbreak hit, including high-powered cleaning
tools and touchless thermometers.
The complex is also now offering virtual fitness classes,
in-home delivery for discounted gym and training products,
and in-home delivery of items from the on-site Patio
restaurant, said Rishi Idnani, managing director at the
Continuum.
When the gyms are allowed to reopen at the Continuum’s north
and south towers, residents will be separated from others by
plexiglass barriers, in addition to the required physical
distance between machines. The 100 pieces of furniture on
each pool deck have been cut by 50 percent. Residents from
25 units will be able to use the pools, with reservations,
for two-hour time slots, and employees will clean and
sanitize those areas in between shifts.
Not all residents agree with the rules in their buildings,
though.
Andres Asion, a Miami Beach broker and resident at Murano at
Portofino in South Beach, said the building has been
requesting that guests wear masks and gloves, and that
residents meet their guests in the lobby, to then travel
together in an elevator back up to a unit.
Murano began allowing contractors back into the building on
Monday, and reopened the tennis courts, but is not allowing
residents to bring a guest or coach to the courts.
Though Asion is on board with the use of masks and other
precautionary measures, “some rules are ridiculous,” he
said, such as requiring guests to enter wearing gloves.
“Why do you care that someone comes in with gloves?” he
said.