Dear Partners,

As we monitor the impacts of the spread of COVID-19, we want to share what Arc Building Partners is doing to protect the well-being of those we employ directly and indirectly - our employees, the tradespeople onsite alike - while balancing our role as stewards of our projects on behalf of our clients:

1. Continuity of Service: As builders, we are accustomed to dealing with dynamic change. As guidance from health professionals and government officials continues to evolve, we have shifted to reducing our office-based Arc staff in both our Buffalo and Northern NJ offices. While we remain open, our staff is working remotely as our IT infrastructure is 100% cloud-based. Similarly, in the event of mandated distancing or localized quarantine measures by the government officials, we will be able to operate remotely while limiting the impact on our office support.
   
   
2. Jobsite Measures:In order to reduce the risk of the loss of manpower or labor productivity due to potential spread of disease on the jobsite, we will be installing additional measures including,
   • Jobsite Hygiene: We are increasing the number of hand washing/sanitizing stations at our jobsites as well as increasing the frequency of the cleaning of our temporary facilities.
   • Increase awareness: We will be coordinating with our subcontractors to conduct tool box talks in order to increase awareness as well as enacting stricter policies of sending home any tradesperson who shows signs of illness.
   • Social Distancing: We will be promoting staggered breaks in order to limit the amount of time when crews are in close proximity.
   • Remote project meetings: Conduct trade coordination and Owner-Architect-Construction Manager meetings via phone/web-based conference calls.
   
   
3. Monitoring our supply chain:Similar to our concern over disruptions from labor shortages, we are doubling our efforts to monitor the status of material deliveries at the 1st and 2nd tier level. Whether that potential will be from limitations in production capacity or logistics disruptions for international suppliers. We will be collaborating with the project teams to mitigate any potential disruptions by,
   • Increasing the amount of stored materials, where supported by Owner and Lender with improved cash flow;
   • Exploring cost effective expediting of materials and offsite storage;
   • Exploring substitution of available alternatives, when shortages and/or late deliveries forecast to negatively impact the critical path.

Like all of us, Arc will be frequently revisiting our plans, as events evolve. As always, open lines of communication are crucial. Your first tier will continue to be your Arc Project Executive. With that said, I am engaged daily, in some case hourly, as we adapt to changing circumstances and adopt new derivatives of our mitigation plan to combat potential adverse impacts to your projects. Feel free to contact me if you would like to explore your project's specific circumstances further.

Thank you, as always, for the project you entrusted to Arc. We cherish that responsibility, so we will not cower in the face of these potential, new challenges. We will continue to advise you and adapt to the fight for your best interests.

Sincerely,

Frank