Duncan Seawall is well known throughout Southwest Florida for their excellent marine contractor services. As they have built their resume and grown their business, they are one of the few contractors able to take on large commercial projects in addition to their residential services. Duncan recently completed a large commercial marine construction project in Sarasota, the renovation of the marina at the Bird Key Yacht Club (BKYC).
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The Bird Key Yacht Club is an esteemed and luxury private club in Sarasota, Florida. To maintain their luxury brand they decided it was time for a face-lift. This face-lift would entail a new composite sheet piling seawall and complete dock reconstruction, spanning 10,648 square-feet. This project also included some dredging to increase the marina's depth to accommodate larger vessels as well as all new marina utilities including electric, plumbing, fire and fueling dock, and the addition of many new boat lifts.
For such an important project, BKYC decided that the best way to select the most qualified contractor for the job was through a Request for Proposal (RFP) process. This is a more selective process than an Invitation for Bid (IFB) where BYKC would only assess a contractor based on prices, not capabilities. Ultimately, Duncan was chosen for the job because of their quality reputation and experience level with projects of this size. There were other companies who participated in the RFP process, who submitted lower bid numbers for the project, but Duncan Seawall’s reputation and past experience was what counted most to BKYC.
During the marina renovation, all boats that were slipped at the marina had to be moved elsewhere. Because of this displacement, it was even more important than ever to meet the club's aggressive project schedule. As the lead contractors on the job, Duncan had to find other local contractors they trusted to sub-contract out services like utilities. Sub-contracting out some services was important to keep the project moving quickly. It also made for greater responsibility for Duncan. Not only were they in charge of managing their team of anywhere from 10 to 30 employees on the jobsite at one time, they also had to manage all of the other workers. They were both the construction manager and the marine contractor for this project.
Having a large team of capable marine contractors is essential when completing large, commercial marine construction projects. Duncan was able to fully dedicate their time to this project while still effectively running all other residential projects and service repair jobs.
