Organizational Plan
In terms of this project and its different phases there will be different organizational structures and management approaches. Throughout all phases of the operation there will be the three primary board members overseeing the creation of Sprucewood, with other board members coming on later as needed during the development of phase 2 and phase 3. This primary board of directors; Mark Lutton, Nicholas Leach, and Matthew Leger, will serve as managers over key parts of the operation during all three phases.
Phase 1
Mr. Leach will facilitate the development of the site and physical structures as the Project Manager/General Contractor. His experience with the construction industry and contacts with real estate developers have been key in both finding a great location ideal for Sprucewood and the set up for sales of the units with key players within the real estate market. Under his leadership, Sprucewood will be the perfect physical realization of the vision and mission of Mr. Lutton for this vibrant musical community.
Mr. Lutton, with his passion and energy to see his dream realized, will be acting as the Director of Philanthropy and Marketing. Throughout the short and long-term phases of Sprucewood, there are going to be several key moments of go and no-go decisions which will be based primarily on funding. Mr. Lutton’s education with accounting coupled with his powers of recall and attention to detail give him the skills in this capacity. However, Mr. Lutton’s extensive background with the music culture throughout Massachusetts and New Hampshire make him uniquely qualified to be the herald of Sprucewood as the next greatest contribution to the life of a musician.
Mr. Leger’s role through phase one is mostly supportive and administrative to Nicholas and Mark. His past experience in sales, people skills, and servant leadership attitude makes him a great second contact for people Mr. Lutton connects with as prospective owners. Mr. Leger’s preliminary planning into the daily flow of business at Sprucewood, as well as his experience with facilities management and business operations, position him well to work alongside Mr. Leach’s real estate contacts detailing all that life at Sprucewood has to offer through the owner’s association.
Phase 2
As Mr. Leach’s involvement with the construction of the condo units finishes up and sales are completed. The analysis of funding at this point will dictate if he moves onto the second section of construction at Sprucewood: a fully operational concert or event venue attached at Sprucewood. Expanding off the amenities section of the condo building will be performance stage with fixed seating, as well as a grand reception room to host public or private functions. Anything from wedding receptions and community events to family reunions and business functions.
Mr. Lutton at this point will slide in as the President of the condo association trust. Being an owner, lover of music culture, and practical father of Sprucewood: his love for this community and disciplined approach to stewardship will serve as a great asset to the owners at Sprucewood. Under his guidance and leadership, Sprucewood will certainly become the greatest retirement community in North America for musicians and anyone else with an equaled passion for the arts.
Phase 2 is where Mr. Leger will transition into building management and its daily operations. Sprucewood’s value added benefit will be affording every owner with the savings of an economy to scale for the entire association. By contracting through Facility Service Partners (FSP) or Sodexo, everything from building maintenance and utilities to dining plans and housekeeping can be rolled into an annual service plan shared between all the owners and the concert hall operations.
Mr. Leger’s years of experience at St. Joseph Hospital gives him both practical working knowledge of what keeps a facility operational physically and procedurally. He also knows what it means to achieve this goal with excellence under the guidance of a central mission or vision. For the hospital it was caring for the whole person, at Sprucewood it is allowing a musician to retire into their music rather than maintaining their accumulation of stuff.
Phase 3
Phase 3 brings Mr. Leach back into the scene as construction of an assisted living facility attached to the other side of the concert hall give options to owners whose health needs are becoming too encumbering for themselves or their loved ones to handle. Again, utilizing general contracting experience to manage the construction with guidance from Mr. Leger’s healthcare facility knowledge.
Mr. Lutton’s involvement in this new addition strictly from the condo association’s position would more than likely be an investment style expansion for a nursing home or assisted living management company to rent out as another source of income for fund Sprucewood and its associated concert hall. This business strategy would allow the trust to maintain reasonable condo association fees and provide funding for better living and enjoyment of music and the arts regionally.
Mr. Leger would oversee the expansion of existing service contracts for facilities management, food services, and janitorial services for the new addition. This will require him again to call upon his experience in the healthcare operations to ensure that the standards and requirements for this structure. This will also become an additional benefit to the concert hall and the condo association as they will be able to benefit from an increased economy of scale from utility infrastructure and dependability.
While bringing on staff for the day to day living at Sprucewood will be further detailed in the Operations Plan Section of this report, areas of weakness have been identified by the current board of directors. There is a lack of human resources experience as well as a diminished acumen for logistics of livery services for running of errands and cultural enrichment trips. The recruitment of an administrator with experience in the travel and entertainment industry will help fill the gap as it pertains to event planning and coordination both at Sprucewood Hall and for residents' trips to performances and shows around New England.
The staff at Sprucewood will be minimal outside of the contracted staff through Sodexo or FSP, so there are plans to contract human resource services through them or recruit an administrative assistant with human resource experience.
Operations Plan
Before any of the three phases can begin, the formation of Mellifluous Inc. will be the genesis moment for the dream of Mark Lutton. With the formation of Mellifluous Inc, and the formation of the Board of Directors; Mark Lutton, Nicholas Leach, and Matthew Leger, funding can begin for its first creation: Sprucewood Grove. As stated before, this condominium will house fifty musicians’ families and also provide everything they will need to perfect, follow, and share their musical dreams with others.
A lot of things will have to come together to get this idea to manifest into a community, starting with investors, which will be detailed here in three phases of growth and development. Spearheading the financial aspect of this beginning will be Mark Lutton with the assistance of Matthew Leger. Mostly in the form of investor seeking, but also in the areas of grants and donations sought after through philanthropic endeavors for the development of culture and the arts in the Milford community.
Funding details are outlined in the financial plan, but for the sake of simple milestones to keep in mind here are $3,000,000 for all planning and site development, including permits and licenses, and then another $9,000,000 for the completion of the structures. The building itself will be three large buildings all joined together as one center. 1st is a three-story 100,000 square foot building housing 50 condo units, the operations offices, and the amenities afforded to owners. 2nd will be the 400-seat performance center and function hall. 3rd will be the addition of a 2nd three-story 100,000 square foot building to be rented out for funding of the condo associations or developed into another 50 units for expansion of the community if demand warranted.
Phase 1: Site Development and Building Project
With the completion of the 1st funding milestone, purchase of the land and a construction firm will need to be secured. Headed up by Nicholas Leach and assisted by Matthew Leger, the bid process will begin for the site and design plans. Starting with an architect firm and building permit process, getting the paperwork in place is a very critical 1st step. Without the proper planning or following the proper permit process, projects like this can be halted by any Authorities having Jurisdiction (AHJs). Included in this will be notification of any meetings required for the residents of Milford, NH.
As adjustments are made for any needed accommodations, plan approvals, and permits are received, the site work can go out to bid. Once a formal Request for Price (RFP) has been issued contracting firms can begin submitting bids for the site work and building construction. At this point, depending on the funding status, the site work and construction phases can either be out to bid separately or all together. This is important because the scope of the work being done can affect redundancies in the work to be and alter bid prices.
When all responses to the RFP have been received a review process will take place to see this will be selected to perform the work. Considerations to in this selection process are not just strictly financial: reputation, materials quoted, and capacity of the firms are all factors in choosing the right company to complete the job. Compliance requirements will include contract language, insurance, and reasonable warranties on licensed work performed.
Matthew Leger will oversee timetables and planning, and coordinate with Mark Lutton for funding benchmarks over the steps of construction. He will also begin working with Mark Lutton on sales presentations and tours with real estate agents to include detailed explanations of the community and all the amenities included with life at Sprucewood. The timetable from inception to completion of construction and sale of all units is three years.
Phase 2: Operation and Management of Sprucewood
The goal will be to have all units sold and owners moved in within 3 months of the completion of construction. This will be accomplished by virtual tours pre-completion with sales agreements pending final inspection when possible, and by tours and sales post construction. Two major aspects of business will be conducted on a daily basis at Sprucewood. The 1st, and simpler, is building and grounds maintenance. The 2nd will be services and amenities offered at Sprucewood. Both will be managed by the Facilities Manager, Matthew Leger, with the assistance of contracted services, an administrative assistant, and three general maintenance technicians.
I will start by detailing the contract services for facilities maintenance, food services, and housekeeping. Under a comprehensive contract service through Sodexo, Facility Service Providers, or any other competitors that offer a quote for these services, many personnel will actually be employed by the contractor. All maintenance needs for the units and utility infrastructure are covered under the contract. This will include HVAC, electrical, and plumbing maintenance.
All calls will be assessed by the general maintenance technicians onsite to determine if a service call needs to be logged with the contracted service, or in matters like light bulbs, clogged toilets, and blown breakers, they can just be taken care of at that time. These general maintenance technicians are also tasked with grounds keeping, snow removal, and operation of the shuttle services offered by the association.
There will be two 15 passenger vans, one of which is handicap accessible, for scheduled shopping trips as well as planned outings to performances, cultural attractions, or visits to national parks and attractions. The events coordinator will be responsible for laying out the weekly schedule as well as administrating the food services in the dining hall and coordinating with the contract manager running the kitchen. When the event hall is rented out for functions or performances, this as well will fall under the responsibility of the events coordinator.
Housekeeping, trash pick-ups, recording studio, and the music rooms get scheduled using a facilities maintenance program similar to those used in hotels for coordinating room service, hall rentals, and asset management. The license for these programs are available for purchase, and it allows you to build a facility, with all of its services, virtually, so anyone living at Sprucewood could sign in on a computer and do anything from ordering what they want to eat, scheduling a housekeeping visit, trash pickup, or registering for a scheduled trip. They can even be used to schedule or log all maintenance and repairs performed for record keeping.
The performance hall and studios are really at the disposal of the residents at Sprucewood, so if they choose to form groups within the community to put on shows, invite the public for lessons, or open up the hall for traveling ensembles, the imagination of the owners is the limit as to what kind of impact Sprucewood has in the area culturally. The bigger the impact, the more musicians will be drawn here, which will increase its impact even more. Which brings me to Phase 3.
Phase 3: Assisted Living Facility or Additional Units
With the completion of the unit sales, grand opening of the function and performance hall at Sprucewood, and significant arts contribution to the region comes the decision of what to do next with the success of Sprucewood. Will it expand its options for musician living here who need to move into the next stage of life? Or will it increase its talent pool and cultural contributions by adding another 5o units to the facility.
After financials have been analyzed over the initial period of operation, a decision will be made at that time to which will be able to make Sprucewood, and its music, more sustainable for the long-term future. This will be looked at during year four and five of this project. If this model is both profitable to the community culturally and to the investors financially, Sprucewood could be the first in a long line of custom designed retirement communities for all kinds of life’s passions.