As background, the La Mer complex was built in the mid-1980s and comprises four shops on Hastings St, and nine upmarket apartments facing the beach front. The building has faced many issues over the years, mostly related to its original construction.

I have been on the committee for the last 5 years, 4 of those as Treasurer, 1 year as Chairman. Between 2010 and 2014, the Body Corporate has undertaken extensive works, this included waterproofing of the rooftop areas and all external veranda’s, replacement of the lift, upgrade the pool and painting of the entire building. This was carried out by a number of different contractors requiring extensive management and control. Whilst the end result was a significant improvement, the project management was time-consuming and difficult. Last year at our AGM we agreed to commence the project of replacing all the beachfront sliding aluminum windows that were in terrible condition.

To achieve this the building needed to be closed down and a tight construction window was offered. Our committee was introduced to DMC by Whittles. When I first met Darren on site to scope out the upgrade I was only planning to replace the window frames on the ground floor apartments (3 in total). Darren soon explained it would be far more economical to do all at once, he went out of his way to take me the main window frame subcontractor and show me the system, the options and between DMC and the subcontractor they presented a very professional timeline/flow chart showing that the project could be done in time. Based on this we agreed to proceed with the entire job commencing 1st May to be completed by 5th June 2015. Without hesitation, I can confirm that DMC and his team lived up to everything any owner, Chairman, Body Corporate Manager could hope for. The project was executed so efficiently, the main points I would like to comment on are: Communication was above and beyond – weekly email updates with photos and commentary Site Condition – completely OHS compliant, personal safety clothing, cleaned every day Team Leadership – Darren was on site every day working with his team, and other contractors. In summary, I have been involved in many building projects, never have I seen a construction company of this size be able to offer a total turn key project. Any issues that arose, Darren had a solution. I sincerely look forward to all up and coming works at La Mer for which DMC will be the preferred contractor.