I became responsible for the management of the Plaza on DeWitt Condominium Association (POD) in 2003. POD is a 46-story 407-unit condominium association, converted in 1975 from apartments. It was the first building in the world to implement tubular construction (1965), later used in virtually all tall buildings including the World Trade Center, the Sears Tower, the John Hancock Center and the Burj Khalfa. It is the tallest building in Chicago clad in travertine marble. On December 10, 2009, the coldest night of that year, a fire broke out in unit 3601; injuring 12 and killing 1 dear owner. It took 300 (1/3 rd ) of Chicago s firefighters to extinguish the blaze. The fire, smoke and water damage affected 50% of the units. While standing on the street with the fire still blazing and waiting for my urgently called team of Supervisors, Managers, building staff and support vendors to arrive, I tried to calm evacuated residents, coordinate refuge in neighboring building s lobbies and deal with the media. While waiting for the Fire Commander to turn the building over to us, we began to implement our preplanned emergency program. A dedicated voicemail line was established. The number was later published for all owners to listen to daily updates on repair progress. We gathered hotel numbers for displaced residences. The lobby, hallways, stairwells and 100 homes were filled with water. The management office ceiling was raining water; computer and phone systems were damaged. The elevators and electricity were out of service. Smoke soot was in the HVAC system vent 1
shafts, inside 80 homes, the 5 elevator shafts, mechanical room, party room and emergency stairwells. It was necessary to coordinate clean-up and communication efforts in a guided, unemotional and efficient manner. I had to keep my team on track and motivated over the next few weeks as we began our immediate efforts and developed long term plans to restore this beautiful property. Many of our residents were displaced for months while their homes dried out, were cleaned, demolished and reconstructed. The residents were emotional and we worked hard to gain their trust. We hired a fire liaison whose responsibility was to coordinate efforts for damaged unit clean-up. The original material used in apartment flooring and drywall contained asbestos. It was necessary to develop a detailed explanation/manual regarding homeowner s insurance coverage. Many owners found they were under-insured and we had to work with them so they could put their homes back in livable order. Over the year it took to put this property back in order we replaced over 50 residential doors, renovated 44 hallways, cleaned the ventilation systems, abated asbestos in 100 homes, painted the stairwells, replaced major HVAC components, and repaired the structural steel and exterior travertine. Our total insurance loss was $3,529,000. I made a presentation of the fire events and my team s actions to our company s 100+ property managers. I was also made a presentation to a local neighborhood community group (SOAR) so they could plan for such disasters at their own properties. This fire was the impetus to implement a better 2
and more immediate emergency communication plan across our companies 100+ managed properties. Today this program, known as Resident Notify, is used to immediately communicate with each of our 36,000 owners and residents via email, text or voicemail, their choice. The lessons learned from this fire changed the focus and approach our managed properties use to plan and deal with emergencies. Damaged Travertine Marble It Took Over 300 Firefighters to Extinguish This Blaze 3
Hallways After the Fire Hallways During Construction and After Restoration 4
Unit Construction/Restoration 5
Managing residences in one of the world s most recognized super-tall buildings is not to be taken lightly. Chicago s award winning John Hancock Center (JHC) has five different ownership entities; one of those is a 48 board member managed 705-unit condominium association. The other owners include 897,000 SF commercial/office space, a 700 space public garage, 172,000 SF restaurants/retailers and a 34,000 SF TV/radio broadcast center. My company has managed the JHC residences since first constructed as apartments in 1969 through condominium conversion in 1973 and I became responsible for the property 5 years ago. The JHC is easily one of the planet s most iconic super structures. The instantly identifiable 100-story sloping X-braced exoskeleton was the 2 nd tallest building in the world when built. Currently it is the 4 th tallest building in Chicago, 7 th tallest in the USA and 33 rd tallest in the world. The condominium s 44 th floor sky lobby includes America s tallest indoor swimming pool and the residences (floors 45-92) are the 3 rd highest in the world. On November 21, 2015, I was on vacation in Florida. At 2:30pm my phone rang. A fire occurred in unit 5011. International News! Thankfully, no serious injuries. The streets around JHC were closed for a Thanksgiving Parade and it was snowing, making it difficult for the fire 6
department to arrive expeditiously. The JHC residences are not sprinklered, have hard-wired smoke detectors and hallway communication speakers (which did not function during this event). A team was again assembled, coordinated from Florida, and restoration efforts began. I immediately booked a flight to Chicago; arriving at 3:00am. Two months after the fire, 30 residences are still displaced, asbestos remediation in the burnt hallway is underway and my staff continues to work diligently on communication and restoration efforts. I made a presentation to the residents regarding the fire, followed by a 200-hour, 15-page report explaining, in detail, the life safety/fire systems and the actions taken to re-train staff to handle emergencies and re-educate owners. Over Christmas, I made and hosted dinner in my home for some owners who were still in a hotel. Again, we used this incident to instruct our other clients and managers so they are better prepared for such events. 7
Closed Streets While the Supertower Burns 8
Damaged Unit Doors Hallways & Unit Repairs Burnt Hallways Water Soaked Hallway Carpets/24-7 Security Guards 9
I have managed many communities in various situations between hopelessness and jubilation. Handling extraordinarily difficult circumstances such as these takes time and patience. By building trust with my clients, calamities such as these can be successfully overcome. 1968 2016 Hancock under construction Still two iconic neighbors Plaza on DeWitt 10