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Rhodes NSW 2138

Scoping shared entries where residential and commercial meet in Rhodes

A tower holding apartments above commercial floors has two populations moving through the same doors at different hours with different expectations. Writing one cleaning schedule for that entry without acknowledging the split produces a compromise nobody chose. This page covers how to scope it in Rhodes.

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In short

In a mixed-use Rhodes tower, the shared entry, lift lobby and circulation should be scoped around the combined pattern of both populations rather than either one. Commercial traffic peaks in the morning and mid-afternoon; residential movement runs into the evening and across weekends, which extends the period the area must present well.

Clean Best records both traffic patterns during the walkthrough and proposes a schedule covering the full span rather than an office-hours pattern. The written proposal separates shared circulation from commercial and residential areas, so the arrangement can be held by whichever party is responsible for each and apportioned accordingly.

Two populations, one lobby

Commercial occupiers judge an entry between about seven and six on weekdays. Residents judge it at every hour including weekends, and they carry a different set of concerns: parcels, prams, luggage, shopping and pets all pass through the same space. An office-hours cleaning pattern leaves the lobby at its worst precisely when the residential population is most present, which is Friday evening and Saturday. The two populations rarely conflict; they simply need the area to present well across a longer span than either alone would require.

The schedule therefore has to span more than a business week. That does not necessarily mean more attendance, but it does mean the attendance is placed differently: a weekend presentation visit, an evening check, and a lighter mid-week pattern often serves both populations better than five identical weekday services. Setting it out this way in the scope lets bidders price the actual requirement. Setting it out this way also lets the committee and the commercial tenants see what each part of the schedule is for.

Separate the areas even when the entry is shared

Even where the front door is common, the areas beyond it usually divide: commercial lift core, residential lift core, commercial floors, residential corridors, shared amenity if any, and the loading and waste areas. Write each as its own area group with its own tasks and frequency. That makes it possible to apportion cost sensibly and to adjust one part without disturbing the others. It also means a change on the commercial floors does not require the residential arrangement to be reopened.

Waste is the area most worth separating. Residential waste behaves completely differently from commercial waste in volume, timing and composition, and the two chutes or rooms need their own schedules. Bulky item disposal, recycling contamination and after-hours presentation are residential characteristics that a commercially written waste schedule will not have anticipated at all. Writing the chute or bin room tasks separately also makes it clear which contractor attends which area and when.

Who holds the arrangement and how it is split

In most mixed-use towers the owners corporation or building manager holds the shared cleaning and recovers it through levies and outgoings, with commercial tenancies contracting separately for their own floors. Confirm the structure before scoping, since it determines who you are writing for and which areas belong in which document. Getting this wrong at the outset means writing a scope for a party who has no authority to commission it.

For the split, the strata schedule or lease provisions normally govern. Where a shared area is used disproportionately by one population, a variation is defensible but needs to be agreed in advance rather than argued after an invoice. Circulating the scope to both the commercial tenants and the residential committee tends to reduce disagreement more than any amount of explanation of the figure alone. Publishing the area schedule alongside the split usually settles the question in a single meeting.

Mixed-use tower scope items for Rhodes

  • Record commercial and residential traffic patterns separately
  • Extend the schedule across weekends and evenings
  • Write each lift core and corridor group as its own area
  • Give residential and commercial waste separate schedules
  • Confirm who holds the shared cleaning arrangement
  • Agree the apportionment basis before the service starts
Clean Best supervisor reviewing strata cleaning tasks in Parramatta NSW

Working in Rhodes and the Central West

Rhodes in the Central West is characterised by corporate offices, retail and high-density mixed-use towers, with buildings that place apartments and commercial floors in the same structure sharing entries, lifts and loading arrangements. Those buildings carry two occupier populations whose expectations of a shared lobby differ in timing more than in standard. Clean Best services Rhodes from 54 Columbia Rd, Seven Hills, and records both patterns during the walkthrough so the proposed schedule spans the full period the shared areas are actually in use.

Questions about Rhodes

Why does a mixed-use lobby need weekend attention?

Because the residential population uses it heavily on weekends while the commercial population does not. An office-hours schedule leaves the shared entry at its worst exactly when residents are most present. A weekend presentation visit, even a short one, addresses the largest gap in a conventional five-day pattern at modest cost. A short Saturday visit often addresses the largest gap in a weekday pattern.

Should residential and commercial waste be scoped together?

No. They differ in volume, timing and composition, and residential waste brings bulky items, recycling contamination and after-hours presentation that a commercial schedule will not anticipate. Writing separate schedules for each waste stream makes both manageable and allows the residential arrangement to be adjusted without affecting the commercial floors. Separate schedules also make it clear which contractor attends which room and when.

Who is responsible for the shared entry cleaning?

Usually the owners corporation or building manager, recovering the cost through levies and outgoings, with commercial tenancies contracting separately for their own floors. Confirm the structure before writing anything, since it determines which areas belong in which document and who you are actually preparing the scope for. Check the strata plan and the leases before drafting anything.

How should shared costs be apportioned in a mixed-use building?

Use whatever basis the strata schedule or lease provisions establish. Where one population clearly uses a shared area disproportionately, a variation can be defensible, but it must be agreed in advance. Circulating the scope itself to both groups usually reduces disagreement more effectively than explaining the figure on its own. Publishing the area schedule alongside the figure removes most of the objections.

Can one contractor cover both the residential and commercial parts?

Yes, and it usually simplifies waste handling, lift use and the shared entry. The scopes remain separate documents with separate pricing so each party keeps its own arrangement. The practical advantage is that a shared-area issue is resolved once rather than becoming a discussion about whose contractor should attend to it. Separate documents also mean either party can review its own arrangement independently.

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