The challenge
Shoreline Plaza’s asphalt had reached the end of its life — alligator cracking across the drive lanes, ponding water near the entrances, and faded striping that no longer met the tenants’ needs. The property manager had quotes from two other companies, but both required closing the lot for several days. With a grocery anchor and a dozen storefronts, days of closure meant real lost revenue and frustrated tenants.
Our solution
We proposed a phased overnight resurface. After assessing the base (sound enough for an overlay in most areas, with targeted full-depth repairs at the worst sections), we scheduled crews to start at close and work through the night. We milled transitions at entrances for drainage, laid and compacted hot-mix in sections, and re-striped the entire layout — recovering several spaces with a more efficient design and bringing the accessible spaces up to code.
The result
The plaza opened at 7am with a smooth, jet-black surface, sharp lines, and proper drainage. Tenants lost zero business days, the property manager recovered parking capacity, and the new surface is set up for a simple sealcoat in two to three years to protect the investment.
When the property manager at Shoreline Plaza called us, the message was simple: “I can’t close this lot for three days.” Two other paving companies had told him that’s what it would take.
The real cost wasn’t the asphalt
For a busy retail center, the expensive part of repaving isn’t the materials — it’s the downtime. Every day the lot is closed, the grocery anchor and the surrounding storefronts lose customers who simply go somewhere with parking.
A plan built around the tenants
Rather than treat this like a residential job stretched larger, we built the schedule around the businesses:
- Assess first. Most of the base was sound, so a structural overlay made sense — with full-depth repair only where the base had actually failed.
- Work overnight, in sections. Crews started at close and moved across the lot in phases so the surface had time to set.
- Fix the water. Ponding near the entrances was milled and re-pitched so water runs off instead of freezing and tearing the new surface apart.
- Restripe for capacity. The new layout recovered several spaces and brought accessible parking up to current code.
By 7am, the plaza was open. The tenants never knew the difference — except that their parking lot suddenly looked brand new.