Hudson's Site Building Thread

[stasu1213]

I had never known of a project that had work started on it before the final design had been determined

[ParisianLesion]

I had never known of a project that had work started on it before the final design had been determined

Ha! Having worked in the industry I can tell you that almost never DOESN'T happen. And the larger the development, the more common it is.

[hybridy]

Ha! Having worked in the industry I can tell you that almost never DOESN'T happen. And the larger the development, the more common it is.

Yeah, it's rare these days. It's called Design-Bid-Build. It's not very common these days as owners want Speed to Market. So architects and engineers break buildings into multiple bid packages and release the over time. Civil and structure go first while architecture and interiors will slide out, as getting into the ground and going vertical will take time. It provides risk to the owner, because decisions get delayed and then costs are incurred as the contractor bid earlier drafts of the documents when late changes are requested. This is because the owner typically requests a GMP [[guaranteed maximum price) but then changes their damn mind after GMP is accepted.

Regarding Hudsons - final documents are going out for hard bid in November.

[EGrant]

Final documents are going out for hard bid in November. At least as of today.

What does that mean?

[hybridy]

What does that mean?

It means the architects and engineers are done drawing all the details, sections, plans etc. that are needed to construct the building. These documents will come with multiple hefty sets of specifications as well. Those specs + drawings are then sent to the GC and their subs to get pricing for all the built elements. Any savings from these bid costs may go back to the GC under the GMP - though the actual contract may differ. I'm simply speaking to the typical.

Ideally, changes are kept to a minimum after this point - but they are in essence inevitable. And every change incurs an added cost. In that instance the owner typically sets aside a Construction Contingency to cover these changes and for Errors & Omissions which also occur. This is usually around 3% of construction cost, but can be higher or lower.