St. Louis — Western Specialty Contractors’ Fort Lauderdale, Fla., branch has completed restoration of the rooftop parking deck at The Esplanade shopping mall in Palm Beach, Fla. The project took 5 months.
Located at 150 Worth Ave. just steps away from the Atlantic Ocean, the luxury retail destination is home to some of the world’s most sought-after luxury brands including Carolina Herrera, Akris, Pucci, Hublot, Lugano Diamonds and Saks Fifth Avenue. Its on-site parking facility supports surrounding businesses, restaurants, hotels, beach visitors and events.
Western’s craftsmen began work to restore the garage’s roof deck in June 2023. The three-phase project consisted of concrete restoration and crack sealing over several high-end retail outlets, installation of new expansion joints and installation of a new traffic-rated, waterproof deck coating.
Routinely exposed to salt air, weathering and heavy traffic, the roof deck’s concrete was exhibiting cracking, spalling and expansion joint failure. The repairs were made as part of the garage’s routine maintenance program.
In general, Western’s experts recommend routine maintenance on concrete parking structures to prevent costly repairs and restorations that can be disruptive to tenants and cause unexpected costs and safety concerns. The goal of parking garage maintenance is to keep water and corrosives away from the garage’s reinforcing steel. The damaging and compounding cycle of water infiltration never gets better on its own, and the longer that warning signs are ignored, the more serious and costly the repairs can become.
Western faced challenges from the on-set of the project, including the fact that construction on Worth Avenue is allowed per Town ordinance only during the summer months, which is also the area’s rainiest period. Furthermore, the roof deck sits above an operating shopping center that includes luxury, world-class retail brands, art galleries and office suites. Upon careful evaluation and consultation with the owner and project engineer, it was determined that the best path forward in repairing the roof deck, drains and expansion joints was a thorough overlay to the waterproofing system and a significant multi-layer coating to the existing concrete. This approach would reduce the impact to the luxury retailers operating below the roof deck level.
Western was able to complete the project in November 2023 to the satisfaction of the owner, on schedule and within budget with limited disruption to the mall’s luxury retailers.
Family-owned and operated for more than 100 years, Western Specialty Contractors is the nation’s largest specialty contractor in masonry and concrete restoration, waterproofing and specialty roofing. Western is headquartered in St. Louis with 30 branch offices nationwide. For more information, visit www.westernspecialtycontractors.com.
SOURCE: Western Specialty Contractors