130,000+ Sq Ft, Cleaned by Drone. Zero Disruption.
Belmont Village Senior Living — an occupied luxury senior-living community in the heart of Coral Gables, steps from the Village of Merrick Park — got its entire exterior cleaned in seven days: more than 130,000 square feet of facade, windows, and floor surfaces, at $0.20 a square foot all in, without a single scaffold pole, swing stage, rope, or lift, and without closing an entrance or moving a resident. Management asked us back on a semi-annual schedule.
Coral Gables high-rise cleaning — at a glance
Belmont Village Senior Living in Coral Gables had its full exterior cleaned across seven days using FAA Part 107 drone soft-wash and pure-water rinse for the facade and windows, water-fed poles for what the drone couldn't reach, and a ground crew that pre-treated and pressure-washed the floor surfaces. Nothing was anchored to the building or roof — no scaffolding, no swing stages, no rope access, no lifts — and no entrance, amenity deck, or drop-off lane was closed at any point. The community asked Vista back on a semi-annual schedule.
- Building
- Belmont Village Senior Living, Coral Gables
- Exterior cleaned
- 130,000+ sq ft
- Scope
- Facade, windows, floor surfaces
- Method
- Drone + water-fed pole + ground crew — no lifts
- This project's rate
- $0.20 / sq ft, all in
- Timeline
- 7 days, building occupied
- Compliance
- FAA Part 107 · $2M insured
Drone cleaning, answered
Where was this drone cleaning project?+
Belmont Village Senior Living at 4111 Salzedo St, Coral Gables, Florida, steps from the Village of Merrick Park. It's a luxury senior-living community whose exterior mixes coral stone, stucco, glass, and metal louvers — more than 130,000 square feet of it, all cleaned from the air and the ground without scaffolding.
What exactly was cleaned on the building?+
The full exterior: the facade and sun-shade louvers, the windows across every elevation, and the floor surfaces throughout the property. Cleaning drones flown by FAA Part 107 pilots handled the facade and windows. Water-fed poles covered what the drone can't reach, such as parts of the pool deck and lower-story windows. A separate ground crew pre-treated the floor surfaces and then pressure-washed them.
Was the building disrupted during cleaning?+
No. Nothing was anchored to the building or roof — no ropes, no scaffolding, no swing stages, and no lifts — so there were no sidewalk closures, no wrapped facade, and no loss of parking or amenity access. Entrances, amenity decks, and drop-off lanes stayed open for all seven days, which mattered because many residents are seniors for whom a safe, unobstructed entrance isn't optional. The amenity spaces were cleaned first, at the start of the schedule, so residents never lost the use of them.
Do you clean occupied senior-living and condo high-rises?+
Yes. Occupied residential towers — senior living, condos, and apartments — are a core part of our work in Coral Gables and across South Florida. We work around the community's schedules in close coordination with staff, exterior cleaning happens with balcony doors closed, and the drone's pure-water system leaves no chemical runoff on landscaping or walkways.
How is drone cleaning approved for Coral Gables airspace?+
Every flight is flown under FAA Part 107 with LAANC airspace authorization where required. Vista Drone Cleaning holds a Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate and carries $2M liability insurance, both of which Coral Gables property managers and HOAs typically require before work begins.
What does drone cleaning a Coral Gables high-rise cost?+
For Class-A residential and commercial towers in Coral Gables, full-exterior drone cleaning typically runs about $0.12–$0.25 per square foot — usually 30–60% below an equivalent scaffolding or boom-lift quote. The Belmont Village project on this page cleaned more than 130,000 square feet of exterior at $0.20 per square foot, all in, covering the facade, the windows, and the floor surfaces across the property. The exact price depends on surface mix, soiling level, building height, and access; we send a fixed per-square-foot quote, not a daily lift rental.
Did the client bring Vista back?+
Yes. Belmont Village asked Vista back on a semi-annual schedule — twice a year — which is the outcome we look for on occupied residential property: a maintenance cycle the building can plan around rather than a one-off emergency clean.
Five-star living can't pause for scaffolding
Belmont Village Coral Gables is a luxury senior-living community whose exterior mixes coral stone, stucco, glass, and metal louvers. South Florida heat, rain, and grime had visibly dulled more than 130,000 square feet of it, right down to the signature stone entrance. Management's first priority was its residents — many of them seniors for whom a safe, unobstructed entrance and a quiet daily routine aren't optional. Traditional access put exactly that at risk.
- Occupied senior-living community — residents stay in place, no exceptions
- Scaffolding, swing stages, or lifts mean weeks of rigging before cleaning starts
- Blocked drop-off lanes and entrances are a safety issue, not an inconvenience
- Constant rigging noise through a community's daily routine
- Coral stone, stucco, glass, and metal louvers all need different chemistry
- Smart savings mattered — but never at the residents' expense
Drones instead of rigging
Cleaning drones flown by FAA Part 107 certified pilots handled the facade and the windows: no ropes, no roof anchors, no rigging of any kind. Water-fed poles covered what the drone can't reach, including parts of the pool deck and the lower-story windows. A separate ground crew pre-treated the floor surfaces throughout the property and then pressure-washed them clean. The whole project ran in close coordination with staff, and the building operated normally the entire time.
- 1
Amenity areas first — cleaned at the start of the schedule so residents never missed a beat enjoying them
- 2
Facade & windows by drone — soft-wash and pure-water rinse across every elevation, with water-fed poles for the rest
- 3
Floors by the ground crew — pre-treated, then pressure-washed throughout the property
Why this works
Safer for crews, faster for tenants, cheaper for owners — and cleaner for the building.
Zero scaffolding, swing stages, rope access, or lifts
Entrances, amenity decks, and drop-off lanes open all seven days
No resident displacement — the community ran normally throughout
Full-height reach on the facade past any standard pole
Pure-water rinse leaves no chemical runoff on landscaping
Coral stone, stucco, glass, and metal each cleaned to matched chemistry
FAA Part 107 certified + $2M liability insured
Asked back on a semi-annual schedule — twice a year
Drone cleaning vs the scaffolding approach on a Coral Gables high-rise
Why an occupied senior-living community is a better fit for drone soft-wash than rigged access
Building disruption
Traditional
Facade wrap, entrance & parking impact
Drone cleaning
None — residents keep normal use
Drop-off lane & entrances
Traditional
Blocked for the duration of the rigging
Drone cleaning
Open every day of the project
Facade reach
Traditional
125 ft boom, then rope access above
Drone cleaning
200 ft from a single ground platform
Crew at height
Traditional
Rigging + rope crew at elevation
Drone cleaning
Zero — pilot works from the ground
Floor surfaces
Traditional
Separate mobilization, separate trip charge
Drone cleaning
Ground crew in the same seven-day window
Time on site
Traditional
Weeks of rigging before any cleaning
Drone cleaning
7 days, start to finish
Cost vs scaffolding
Traditional
Baseline rigged rate
Drone cleaning
Typically 30–60% lower
Typical Coral Gables high-rise cleaning costs
Reference ranges for Class-A residential and commercial towers in Coral Gables and Miami-Dade
Per sq ft — drone
$0.12 – $0.25
Varies by surface mix and soiling. This project: $0.20 all in.
Per sq ft — scaffolding
$0.38 – $0.85
Includes rigging, permits, traffic control
Typical full-tower budget — drone
$25k – $150k
Mid- to high-rise, full exterior
Schedule on-site — drone
1 – 7 days
Facade-only jobs finish fastest; this project covered 130,000+ sq ft of facade, windows and floors in 7
Crew size
1 pilot + ground crew
vs 4–6 person scaffolding crew
Re-clean frequency
9 – 18 months
Coral Gables salt-air + tropical biofilm
Belmont Village Senior Living Coral Gables — the luxury senior-living community developed in collaboration with Baptist Health South Florida. Logo used with permission.
The full exterior, done in seven days
Vista cleaned the entire exterior — the building facade, its windows, and the floor surfaces throughout, more than 130,000 square feet in all — in seven days, at $0.20 per square foot all in, with the community fully occupied the whole time. It’s a scope that would typically take far longer once scaffolding erection and teardown are counted, and at $0.20 a square foot it came in typically 30–60% below a comparable scaffolding or boom-lift quote. Years of Coral Gables salt haze and biofilm came off the coral stone, glass, and concrete with a soft-wash and pure-water rinse — no pressure-etching, and no chemical runoff on the landscaping. The horizontal stone beam spanning the courtyard and the parapet by the chess terrace went from dingy and stain-mottled to uniform and bright. Management told us they were very happy with the result, and asked us back on a semi-annual schedule.
It’s the same drone-first approach we take on towers across Miami and South Florida.
The drone at work on the windows
One of our cleaning drones working the courtyard windows, moving line by line, floor by floor. Nothing anchored to the building or roof: no ropes, no scaffolding, no swing stages, no lifts. The drone washed the glass across every elevation while water-fed poles and the ground crew covered the rest — and the building stayed fully in use for all seven days of work.
Before & after
The same front entrance — before the clean and after. Soft-wash and a pure-water rinse lift years of Coral Gables salt haze and biofilm off the stone, glass, and concrete without pressure-etching a thing.
Watch the cleaning drone in flight
Vista’s tethered soft-wash drone at work on Coral Gables high-rises — including Belmont Village and neighboring Class-A towers. Every clip is the drone in flight, filmed on site. Tap any clip to play.
Watch any clip on its own page
Each clip has a page of its own with what the footage shows and how that part of the job was done.
- Cleaning drone in flight between two high-rise towers — Coral Gables
- Soft-washing a Coral Gables high-rise facade by drone in flight
- Aerial pass down a Coral Gables high-rise facade by cleaning drone
- Cleaning drone over a high-rise amenity courtyard and pergola
- Drone cleaning a living green-wall facade in Coral Gables
- Drone cleaning metal sun-shade louvers on a high-rise facade
- Cleaning drone flying along a Coral Gables high-rise facade
- The full scale of a Coral Gables high-rise cleaned by drone
- Cleaning drone flying over the street to a high-rise facade
- Close-up of a tethered cleaning drone in flight
- Cleaning drone flying past a Coral Gables high-rise and rotunda tower
- Soft-wash drone climbing a high-rise facade under storm clouds
- Cleaning drone rising past a living green wall and sun-screens
- Tethered drone climbing a Coral Gables high-rise above the treeline
- The truck rig behind a Coral Gables exterior and window cleaning
Frequently asked questions
Straight answers on process, safety, pricing, and scheduling — pulled from the questions South Florida property managers actually ask.
Do you carry insurance and provide a Certificate of Insurance?+
Yes. Vista Drone Cleaning carries $2M liability insurance plus workers' compensation, and we issue a Certificate of Insurance — with the association or property manager added as additional insured on request — the same day, before any work begins. Most Coral Gables HOAs and management companies require this, and we have it ready.
Who handles the FAA and airspace approvals?+
We do. Every flight is operated by an FAA Part 107 certified remote pilot, with LAANC airspace authorization filed where Coral Gables airspace requires it. Management doesn't have to submit anything — compliance is on us.
How do you prove the building was actually cleaned?+
Every job includes 4K before-and-after documentation of each elevation, so the board or ownership can see exactly what was cleaned and the finished result — not just an invoice. It's the same footage you see on this page.
How fast can you quote and schedule?+
We send a fixed per-square-foot quote within 24 hours of a site review, and can typically schedule Coral Gables and Miami-Dade high-rises within one to two weeks, weather permitting.
What areas do you serve besides Coral Gables?+
We clean high-rises and commercial buildings across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach — Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Brickell, Downtown Miami, Miami Beach, Aventura, and Fort Lauderdale — throughout South Florida.
Keep exploring
Related services, pricing, and answers — all in one click.
Looking for alternatives to scaffolding?
See how commercial properties across Miami are cleaned without scaffolding, boom lifts, or rope access — safer, faster, and 30–60% more cost-efficient.
See what your building would cost
Most Coral Gables, Miami, and South Florida high-rise quotes come back within 24 hours — a fixed per-square-foot price, not a daily lift rental.