Overview
The Scott Rakow Youth Center, part of Miami Beach’s Parks and Recreation Department, was built in 1976 to serve the teens of Miami Beach. It has now grown to serve children and adults of all ages with a variety of recreational activities. The Youth Complex is a multi-faceted facility that houses a state of the art 12,885 SF ice skating rink, an outdoor swimming pool, six bowling lanes, a gymnasium, an arts and crafts center, a game room, a media room, a fitness center, a multi-purpose room, a music room, and a computer lab. The skating rink is complete with ADA bleacher seating and supporting spaces to host special events.
Since the skating rink completion in 2004, the facility has experienced problems with its mechanical cooling system. The existing design always presented challenges in maintaining an adequate balance of ambient temperature. In recent years, the existing mechanical units have deteriorated and repair services have become a recurrent problem.
Through a qualifications-based selection, Thornton Construction was hired as the Construction Manager at Risk to replace the mechanical cooling system and to provide various renovation improvements to the interior walls and ceilings. Work included demolition, architectural, electrical, fire protection, and of course mechanical upgrades. In order to arrive at a GMP, Thornton provided our preconstruction expertise to offer the City of Miami Beach the best and most cost-effective options. Through value engineering, design review, and constructability, Thornton contributed to bringing the drawings to 100% completion. Given that the area is largely populated by children, and given that operations will continue during construction, careful consideration was taken by our team to coordinate and devise the safest and least disruptive logistics plan.
