Higley served as Construction Manager at Risk for the $27.5 Million, 100,000 SF renovation of the Ritz Carlton Hotel at Tower City in downtown Cleveland. The scope involved common space renovations on the 1st, 6th and 7th floor including the main
entry lobby, registration areas, elevator lobbies, prefunction areas, banquet hall, fitness center, and the hotel’s 5-star restaurant. The work involved: complete finish replacement and updating; mechanical, electrical, and plumbing upgrades; the renovation of nine elevators (4 freight and 5 passenger); and a new porte-cochere at the hotel’s exterior entrance. This phase of the project completed in March 2018.

In 2020, Higley was brought back to further renovate spaces on the 6th floor, including converting the existing Muse restaurant into a high-end private bar and gathering space, and converting existing office space into a new bridal room.

Project Achievements 

• The project involved multiple micro-phases, to complete all work with minimal disruption to hotel operations including no reduction in room capacity while construction completed.
• The project team worked a shift schedule with construction working hours extending from 9 AM to 6PM to maintain comfort for hotel guests.
• The project involved close coordination with hotel staff as construction operations required common use of freight elevators and material storage taking place on available space on other floors of the building.
• Higley managed the logistics of all FF&E for the guest rooms renovation, including delivery, staging in an adjacent building, and sequencing installation.