Samaritan Center and Black Family Development

The Samaritan Center and Black Family Development project was one of Zolman Restoration’s most complex and collaborative efforts to date between our Mitigation and Personal Property divisions.

Project Overview

Mitigation:
This was a Category 3 water loss affecting over 16,000 square feet and impacting more than 35 rooms and common areas within the Samaritan Center, a multi-tenant commercial facility in Detroit. The source was a major drain backup. Simultaneously, Black Family Development building sustained significant water damage due to fire department discharge during an electrical fire. Our scope included water extraction, selective demolition, structural drying, and coordination with environmental partners for ACM and lead abatement. This multi-week project required precision execution and high-level collaboration to stay on track.

Personal Property:
Our personal property division focused on the lower level of the Samaritan Center, occupied by a single tenant. We performed inventorying, packing, and coordinated contents movement to support mitigation and demo work. This ran concurrently with mitigation and required constant adjustments to staging, tracking, and clearances.

Key Challenges

Mitigation:

• Navigating approvals from two separate insurance carriers and a third-party consultant, all with unique scopes and review processes.
• Performing work in occupied and sensitive areas, requiring off-hour shifts, discretion, and heightened communication.
• Addressing ACM and lead concerns that delayed access to key areas until proper testing and abatement were completed.
• No cellular reception on-site, which led to the deployment of Starlink satellite internet to enable documentation and communication.
• Ensuring equipment and materials were available at all times through the use of an on-site commodity trailer.

Personal Property:

• 20–30 individuals on-site daily, including Zolman crews, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, and vendors, requiring extreme coordination.
• Continuous re-staging and movement of contents to clear paths for mitigation, while maintaining real-time inventory integrity.
• In-person documentation and verbal coordination were essential due to limited digital connectivity.

Notable Achievements / Milestones

Mitigation:

• Deployed a desiccant dehumidifier for large-scale, high-efficiency drying.
• Teams worked after hours and weekends to stay on track and meet aggressive timelines.
• Maintained a clean, professional job site, consistently praised by Zurich, Sedgwick, and project stakeholders.
• This was one of the first major projects where mitigation and contents divisions operated shoulder to shoulder, setting a benchmark for internal collaboration.
• Hosted countless walkthroughs with insurance carriers, consultants, trade partners, and building stakeholders to ensure alignment and maintain transparency.

Personal Property:

• Achieved 100% inventory accuracy despite complex shifts and tight scheduling windows.
• Maintained control over all contents in a fast-paced, crowded, and evolving environment.
• Showcased strong cross-division synergy between contents and mitigation, with no conflicts in schedule or execution.

Innovative Solutions / Approaches

Mitigation:

• Utilized Starlink internet for stable remote access in a no-service area, ensuring real-time uploads and access to documentation.
• Maintained a fully stocked commodity trailer on-site to reduce delays from supply chain or material shortages.
• Implemented mobile containment, HEPA filtration, and odor control equipment to isolate work zones and protect unaffected areas.
• Maintained a shared OneDrive hub for live reporting, stakeholder access, and ongoing progress tracking.

Personal Property:

• Daily briefings and structured weekly meetings kept all parties aligned.
• Executed real-time updates, transparent communication, and organized staging to avoid any disruption in tracking.
• Prioritized face-to-face communication when tech limitations required it—resulting in improved alignment and execution.

Client Feedback / Results 

Samaritan Center and Black Family Development leadership both expressed high levels of satisfaction with the communication, professionalism, and results of the project. Sedgwick adjusters and consultants consistently complimented the site’s cleanliness, organization, and execution. Thanks to clear communication, strategic scheduling, and full team commitment, the project experienced minimal delays. This project now stands as a prime example of what can be accomplished through unified internal collaboration and stakeholder transparency.