Multiple other developers declined to comment. But construction sites were visibly active throughout the region Wednesday, despite a call Tuesday to stop all construction by Sergio Pino, president of the Gables-based Century Homebuilders, to avoid the spread of COVID-19.
Pino halted work at the firm’s $100 million 850 Le Jeune Road mixed-use project on March 26 after two of the construction workers tested positive for coronavirus. It will remain closed for at least 14 days.Peter Dyga, president and chief executive officer of Associate Builders and Contractors, defended the projects that are moving forward.“If you shut down an industry as a whole, it will not be able to respond as quickly to what people deem as important, such as building a field hospital,” he said.Murray Rice, owner of the Deerfield-based Richard and Rice Construction, is building projects for clients including Lennar, Pulte and D.R. Horton. Crew numbers on site remain the same as before the coronavirus crisis, he said, and he is requiring all construction workers to work six feet apart and not congregate.The closure of the county’s permitting center seems to have had little impact — so far.On Saturday, Miami-Dade County halted inspection for safety code and compliance of all construction job sites until April 7.
During the 10-day closure, developers and contractors must hire their own engineers to inspect job sites.Most of his developers are hiring private inspectors, Rice said, because without one “that shuts the job site down. “
Source: Miami construction projects continue despite hurdles | Miami Herald