Short answer is roughly 20% or more. Through a number of cost saving opportunities, the Design/Build Phased Approach to construction can be the most economical cost- and time-wise, not only saving on Architectural services, but also on the overall construction budget.
Franchising a new business is exciting, but it also requires a significant amount of forethought to prepare for a variety of scenarios that a franchisee could encounter. Obviously, your lawyer and consultants can provide the legal and contractual elements of franchising, but as a restaurant construction specialist, we’re more versed with the building design and construction details that you’ll need to establish. Below we offer advice for you to consider during restaurant franchise development.
As we hear more and more about STEM education and how important it is to expose your students to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math as fields of study, Wolgast offers programs to introduce construction practices to your students during our construction projects at your school. We call it Educational Enhancement and it has the flexibility to be tailored to your students in many different scenarios.
Other than taking time to prepare a plan when the weather is poor for construction (so you can be ready when the weather is conducive for construction) there are additional benefits to contact your design/builder or general contractor in the winter. Let me clarify that the following explanation works best when applied in Michigan and other cold winter states.
The basic difference of D-B over general construction is the relationship between the architect and builder. In this project delivery, they are on the same team. A doctor only needs to work with one entity to design and then build his or her office. Also in this scenario, the doctor is protected from any discrepancies from the architect’s drawings to contractor’s construction application. With D-B, the contractor and architect are consulting on budget, application, and material quality throughout design, so when construction starts there are very little interruptions or change orders. Should there be a discrepancy, the Design-Builder will work it out without involving the owner unnecessarily. This protection is valued by doctors who oftentimes aren’t as familiar with construction, nor have the time to deal with these issues on site. All of these reasons are exactly why D-B was created as an alternative to general construction.
As an update to this blog originally posted a few years ago, we have new information to add from the June 2018 Design-Build Utilization Report funded by Design-Build Institute of America. Findings in this report determined that popularity continues to grow for this delivery method. The results showed, "Design-Build Construction spending in the assessed segments is anticipated to increase 18% from 2018 - 2021", and will likely represent 44% of construction spending by 2021. Researchers determined that the education of building owners on Design-Build benefits is gaining traction, and more owners are experiencing enjoying the benefits first hand. Additionally, FMI Corporation, a management consulting and investment company, had released a report in March 2019 titled 2019 AGC/FMI Risk Management Survey, whereby they found that "38% of contractors were <planning> to increase their in-house design capabilities last year and 43% this year". So there will be more collaboration, less risk, and more competition among design and construction moving forward.
Original blog article:
According to the May 2013, “Design-Build Project Delivery Market Share and Market Size Report” by Reed Construction Data and RS Means Intelligence, Design-Build construction delivery method has taken an additional 9% of the construction market since 2005 and General Construction has lost 10% of the market share in that same time.
I caught a rerun of Family Feud on GSN recently and the question was posed, “What profession has no room for errors?” They featured seven possible answers. I automatically thought of physicians, which was the top answer. After that, it became a little tougher. Police officer was up there, but neither pilot nor bus driver were. So what else could it be that 100 American people thought? I was on the edge of my seat to find out. Then they said it, "Construction"! Of course, being in the industry I know this, but I didn’t know that the majority of people on Family Feud would have thought of it.
As I found out recently by talking to Steve Canole, Vice President and Business Loan Officer at 1st State Bank, there aren’t as explicit criteria for securing a commercial construction loan as there are for residential mortgage financing. According to Steve, there are many more variables that lenders need to consider when reviewing a commercial property mortgage compared to a residential loan which is more stream lined. Primarily, these variables include whether it’s an investment property versus owner-occupied, the size of the project, the varied ways commercial real estate can be purchased and held, the various types of operating entities and how the owner chooses to operate and file taxes, and finally the loan/cost ratio of the project.
Obviously, planning a construction project doesn’t happen overnight. In most cases, the client has a set occupancy date when construction has to be completed either to satisfy a contract they have acquired or to meet their seasonal market (to name two). During that construction project time frame, planning through completed project, there are five main activities that need to take place, which include design, cost estimating, obtaining regulatory approval, acquiring materials and construction.
Dentists sometimes put off improvements to their building space due to the anticipated disruption of their business. Determining how to remodel their office or relocate to a new space when a practice can’t survive without an active patient load can feel like a big risk. However, I’m here to tell you that it's possible to remodel, renovate or relocate with minimal impact to your practice when you use a professional contractor.
