Re-Roofing the Historic Riverside Hotel Downtown Fort Lauderdale

The historic gem of downtown Fort Lauderdale’s famed Las Olas Boulevard, the Riverside Hotel built in 1936, showcases the best of Old Florida charm. The Las Olas Company hired Advanced Roofing, Inc. (ARI) to provide HVAC services for this landmark hotel last year, and while they were onsite, requested a roof inspection. The ARI team determined a roof replacement was needed for the 12-story, 231-room hotel.

Project Background

The historical Riverside Hotel is a multi-building, multi-roof level property. Its existing hot-mopped modified 43,500-square-foot roofing system was at the end of its lifespan after being serviced throughout its life. Deck deflection was evident in areas where new mechanical units were installed over the years, which also attributed to increased ponding water in some areas, which resulted in further roof deterioration.

The crew worked on the hotel’s 13 roof areas, which featured various deck types, so the scope of work differed slightly throughout the entire project. All roof areas received a variation of the Carlisle 60-mil PVC Kee and 60-mil PVC Kee Fleeceback membranes, which required applying both Rhino Bond and Fully Adhered roof systems.

The Project Scope of Work Included: 

1. Raising existing remote terminal units (RTU)
2. New electrical conduits for HVAC
3. New condensate lines and OMG pipe supports
4. New gas line supports
5. Shop fabricated scuppers, stucco stop, counter flashings, collector heads, gutters, downspouts, coping cap, AP vents, and line jacks

The hotel recently underwent a renovation and expansion to include a state-of-the-art 12-story Executive Tower and two new hospitality suites with verandas overlooking historic Las Olas Boulevard and the New River. For our crews to work on the new section of the hotel, our team was required to load and lower the materials, equipment, and old roofing to a lower patio deck and move to the crane access site to be lowered to the ground. The old roofing system was removed daily. On the old section of the hotel, the crews brought debris from the tear-off up to the middle roof and moved it to the crane access area to be raised over the hotel and onto the parking lot setup area.

This project attests to ARI’s ability to thoroughly survey the entire project to develop a complete scope of work, plan out the logistics and then implement our plan in the field from start to finish with minimal impact on our customer’s operations.

Overcoming Challenges

Our crew replaced the roof in phases while the hotel was in full operation, carefully moving from one area of the property to the next, with very little room to mobilize our crane and other equipment. This required continuous communication between the project superintendent and the hotel’s chief engineer regarding not only the crew’s daily schedule but their projected schedule to minimize disruptions for hotel guests. In response, hotel management reserved guest rooms in advance in areas outside of the planned work areas throughout the project’s 7-month duration. Work also had to take place after 9 a.m.

With crane access to the individual roof areas not possible, the debris and materials had to be carried across incomplete areas of the roofing system to another level where crew members were able to gain crane access. This process sometimes required lifting or lowering materials with hoists, which took careful planning to ensure the materials were not traveling across finished work. It also required coordinating with the mechanical division to minimize any traffic over the new roof.

Safety Plan

With roof heights ranging from 13 to 132 feet, ensuring the safety of our crew was imperative, as always. A multitude of safety precautions was taken, including the use of safety monitors, safety rails at access areas, warning lines, and mobile tie-off raptor carts with fall arrest systems. All crew members were required to wear harnesses, safety vests, and hard hats in areas where hoists and cranes were utilized.

The timing of this project posed a challenge when it came to safety as it began just before the beginning of the rainy season and lasted throughout the summer months. This required monitoring the weather daily to avoid any situations in which a flash shower or thunderstorm could endanger our crews.

Project Results

Advanced Roofing, Inc. is proud to have completed the project on time, within budget, and with no safety incidents or disruptions for hotel guests, polishing this historic gem of the Fort Lauderdale skyline. As a long-time customer of Advanced Roofing, The Las Olas Company trusted that ARI had the experience and resources necessary to complete this project efficiently and with minimal impact on operations.