The Challenge
A 412-unit residential tower that absorbed a major mid-construction redesign without losing its delivery date
Halfway through construction, a program change rewrote the upper floors of a 412-unit residential tower already rising in Austin. The new layout required changes to the framing, the lateral system, and coordination with trades that were already on site and on schedule. The structure underneath had to adapt without resetting the schedule or the budget. Changes of this scope midway through a high-rise typically add months and significant cost; the contractor's timeline left no room for either.
Our approach
We reworked the framing and lateral system around the new layout, starting with the changes that had the most downstream dependencies so the contractor could sequence around them. Where possible, we identified structural modifications that could be detailed and fabricated in parallel with ongoing work below, rather than halting construction while new drawings were produced. Revised drawings were turned around on the contractor's timeline, not ours. The lateral system changes were integrated into the existing construction sequence rather than treated as a separate scope, which kept trade coordination intact and the critical path undisturbed.
The outcome
The redesign was absorbed with no net schedule impact, and the tower topped out on its original date. The contractor's trades never stopped; structural revisions were delivered ahead of each trade's next sequence, keeping the critical path intact throughout. The fourteen reframed floors were built under the same cost model as the original scope, with no material change orders attributable to the structural work. The Carlson delivered 412 units on time and within budget, despite a program change that would have derailed most projects.
412
Units delivered
0
Days added to schedule
14
Floors reframed
"The program changed under our feet and the date didn't move. Johnson absorbed it without ever putting the schedule at risk."
David Torres, Development Director, Carlson Properties
