All questions are based on the following scenario:
Your company owns and manages an industrial / commercial estate located in the South East of England.
The estate comprises of a number of commercial properties of approximately similar size. The properties are a combination of single-storey and two-storey warehouse type buildings with a variety of tenant organisations occupying them. The oldest property was built in the mid-1950s and the most recent was completed in 1995.
The majority of the properties require refurbishment to bring them up to an appropriate business standard, including environmental and health and safety issues and the requirements of the Equality Act 2010. At the moment, most of the properties have tenants who have occupied the buildings for some considerable time.
The current demand for these types of properties is high but clients / tenants are expecting good quality, cost efficient and sustainable accommodation and they are not willing to accept low standards of buildings or a poor external and internal environment.
Extensive works need to be carried out on the estate when two tenants giving notice that they will not renew their leases when they expire in a few months’ time. They have indicated they are moving to larger and more modern premises that meet their projected needs.
Despite the current high level of demand your company is worried that they will have problems finding new tenants for the vacant properties in their current conditions.
The company’s directors have been presented with two very different strategies:
• Not to undertake any rehabilitation works and to allow units to remain vacant with a view to disposal of the properties.
• To make each unit more attractive to either new or existing tenants by undertaking extensive refurbishment works to the buildings and the estate generally.
The company has decided to adopt the latter option and prepare proposals based on the current position and you have been given the task of managing the refurbishment project.
Your task is to develop a strategy that has discrete parts;
1. a) Refurbish the two properties to a high standard as they become vacant. Note: Both properties will become vacant at the same time.
2. b) Refurbish the occupied properties to the same high standard after the vacant properties have been refurbished. This will require careful negotiations with the existing tenants.
The directors have agreed that there are options within the strategy:
3. To refurbish the two vacant properties and to find new tenants for them,
4. To (ask) the existing tenants to move to the newly refurbished properties and then refurbish the ones that they vacate. If this scenario is adopted the process will continue until all properties are refurbished.
5. To refurbish the properties with the tenants still in occupation.
Questions (Your answers must be fully referenced using the Harvard method)
1. It is the intention of the company to achieve accreditation for the estate through BREEAM or LEED. Explain in the form of a report to Management what provisions would be applicable in order to achieve accreditation from each scheme and make a recommendation as to which of the two system you consider most suitable for this scenario.
2. If the refurbishment of each occupied property is carried out with the tenants still in- situ, there are potentially serious health and safety implications. Outline:
3. One of the tenant organisations is concerned that full implications of the Equality Act 2010 with regards to provisions for disabled access will apply to them as service providers.
They have asked for details of your proposals for the refurbishment to ensure that the estate and the various buildings on the estate accord with the requirements of the Act. In a report format, write to all organisations who occupy buildings on the estate indicating how the refurbishment will achieve compliance.
4. The project has commenced and is at an advanced stage with both of the vacant properties almost completely refurbished and work is planned to commence on two other buildings.
The occupiers of the buildings that are about to have refurbishment work started have made final arrangements to vacate the properties and relocate into the newly refurbished buildings.
They are due to move within the next five days. You have just been informed that there was a serious fire on the first floor of one of the recently completed buildings and that this will mean the building will need some extensive remedial works before it can be fully occupied. Discuss how your disaster recovery plan will allow the situation to be retrieved.
