Working with the team at Coastal Construction has been an extremely eye opening experience to how a project is constructed, from the technical, business, and management perspectives. I worked on the One Flagler project in West Palm Beach, FL, which is a 25 story luxury office building set to open at the end of 2024. As the project nears completion, I had the privilege of assisting the team in closeout tasks for TCO (Temporary Certificate of Occupancy), coordination between the general contractor and the subcontractors, and reviewing site work. My architectural background set me up for success at Coastal by having a deep understanding of reading and reviewing drawings, processing RFIs (Request for Information), and navigating detail and shop drawings. Gaining exposure to the construction industry has been an invaluable experience to my schooling and career opportunities, and I have really appreciated getting to learn more about the management and coordination involved to construct a project.
I began the summer by becoming acquainted with Procore, a construction management software. Procore is the core tool Coastal Construction utilizes to organize their information, track project statistics, and communicate with the other disciplines involved on the project. I enrolled in classes to familiarize myself with this tool since I would be using it everyday. I've obtained Procore certification in the following categories:
Architect Certification
Estimator Certification
Project Manager: Core Tools – General Contractor
Project Manager: Project Management – General Contractor
Project Manager: Quality and Safety – General Contractor
The work experiences I performed can be categorized into Project Development and Documentation, Construction Evaluation, and Project Management.
Project Development and Documentation:
Reviewing submittals
Logs (caulking, meeting attendance, manpower, sketches, etc.)
Organized attic stock information
T&M ticket organization
Hurricane patrol documentation weekly walks
Construction Evaluation:
Responding to field reports from the architect and engineer
Walked the site with subcontractors
RFI linking to drawings
Creating RFIs
Logs (backcharges, fire protection inspection, owner turnover training, etc.)
Assisted in managing punch items
Project Management:
Upkept the warranty log for closeout
Communicated with subcontractors for closeout submittal documents & upload
Attended TCO, LEED, Weekly Subcontractor, and Closeout Meetings
Helped coordinate and schedule deliveries
Update Extended Hours Letters Monthly
Review Pay Apps (LEED)
One of my favorite experiences interning with Coastal this summer was getting to tour some of Coastal's other projects in Miami. The first project the interns toured was the 2600 Biscayne project, which will be the new headquarters for Coastal Construction. This project is just starting out and is in its foundation stage with piles being chipped and column reinforcement being structured. It was exciting learning more about structural supports and different foundation techniques. I appreciated getting to see a project that was in a completely different stage than One Flagler. Learning about the coordination involved at the very beginning of a project was really important, and I gained so much knowledge on the roles of different team members and disciplines.
The second project I got to tour was Miami World Tower One, a luxury condo building with retail and parking garage space. This project had just recently topped out and was in the process of obtaining TCO. I was able to talk with a lot of the Coastal team members working on this project and asked them questions about their roles and the project's development. I was able to explore the roof, MEP space, elevator control room, generator, residential units, loading dock, amenity decks, and parking garage. I learned so much about the owner's intent when approving designs and materials for a project and how that impacts schedule and budget.
These experiences were not only educational but very fun as well. I enjoyed getting to meet more of the interns and see how different construction sites are run. Similar to these site visits, Coastal provided many trainings for their interns, including RFI and Submittals, Deep Foundations, and Togal AI.
My experience with Coastal Construction was extremely insightful in gaining hands-on experience in the construction management field. I learned so much from my team and am so grateful for their support and guidance as I learned about the relationship between architecture, construction, and the other disciplines involved in a project. This was a completely new experience for me as an architecture student, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn more about potential career options as a near graduation. Thank you to the team at Coastal Construction for including me as an integral part of One Flagler this summer and the opportunity to learn from amazing professionals!
