In our experience the largest single cause of cost overruns on US retail buildouts is weak preconstruction — a brand commits to a lease against an order-of-magnitude estimate, the schedule of values that gets built later from real quantity take-offs comes in twenty to forty per cent higher, and the gap has to be absorbed somewhere (usually in value engineering at the wrong moment of the design conversation) — and four to eight weeks of disciplined preconstruction up front is the cheapest insurance available against that pattern.
What we deliver against the contract.
- Schedule of values built from quantity take-offs, not ratios
- Permit strategy per jurisdiction — filing type, expediter, AHJ pre-application
- Trade pre-qualification — minimum three subcontractor bids per major trade per market
- Value engineering options surfaced before drawings are finalised
- Schedule sequencing with critical-path milestones
- Risk register with cost and schedule exposure quantified
Three phases. Same on every program.
Drawings & specs review
We read what the design team has produced, ask the questions that need asking before take-offs, and identify the constructability and cost-driving choices.
Take-off & pricing
Quantity take-offs go to the relevant trades in each market. Pricing comes back as a schedule of values, not a single number, with confidence intervals on each line.
Decision package
We deliver a board-ready preconstruction package — GMP or cost-plus structure, schedule, trade list, permit plan, risk register, value engineering options.
What preconstruction typically costs and takes
The questions buyers ask in the first call.
Can preconstruction roll into the construction contract?
Yes. Most clients run preconstruction as a standalone engagement and then roll the fee into the construction contract if they proceed. If they don't, they keep the package — it's theirs.
Do you need full construction documents to start?
No. Schematic design is enough to start cost planning. Full CDs are typically not in by the time the lease has to be committed, which is why preconstruction runs in parallel with design.
Will you give us a range or a single number?
Both. Order-of-magnitude range during schematic. A single GMP-confidence number at CD 90%. Anyone who promises a single number off schematic is making it up.
Want a defensible read on what this looks like for your program?
Tell us about the program. We'll come back with a one-page scoping memo inside two business days.