The Pre-Design Phase begins once a signed contract is in place and supporting consultant’s contracts have been awarded.
For this phase, that most likely includes a real estate broker, surveyor, geotechnical engineer, civil engineer, project architect and project facilitator. However, it’s important to note that the critical path during this phase includes engaging the surveyor and geotechnical engineer. Just as important, you should review your purchase agreement for required performance deadlines.
We strongly encourage you, along with your broker, to review the purchase agreement against the actual project schedule developed by the design team and advise of any conflicts. Our project facilitator will coordinate actual submittal, approval, and generate a list of supporting documentation required for the initial planning application.
Of course, some business owners do choose to handle this phase themselves, but using an expert project facilitator tends to make the process run more smoothly.
Regardless of how you choose to move forward with this part of the process, though, it is extremely important that all perspectives are taken into account. Does this meet your vision? Does this meet the functional needs of your future consumer? Have your investors signed off?
A good way to look at this phase is as “problem-seeking”. We want to figure out anything that feasibly could go wrong before we get into the more involved phases like schematic design and construction. All of the heavy lifting in terms of research, decision making and contingency plans should be done before we get there.
In terms of monetary cost for this phase, most projects fall somewhere between $4,000 and $15,000. This will depend on the scope of your building project, the number of contractors that are brought on board, and other factors.
By the end of this phase, we will have gathered site documentation, geotechnical reports, ALTA surveys, application checklists, and any additional information required for jurisdiction approval.