Wealth Opportunities in Commercial Real Estate: Management, Financing, and Marketing of Investment Properties

Developer as Conductor

In a construction project, the developer/owner becomes the conductor, orchestrating and managing the various parties who contribute their work to the project in an attempt to create a final product. The orchestra must be assembled. An architect is needed to analyze the site to determine the size of the project that can be placed on the land as well as its configuration. The architect might consult with a civil engineer who focuses on grading, streets, and sewers, and overall utility systems. Later in the process the architect may consult with other engineers, such as a mechanical engineer, who designs the building's HVAC system, and an electrical engineer, who is usually retained to design the electrical power and distribution system. An attorney is needed to assist in, among other things, drafting the PSA, reviewing the survey in conjunction with the preliminary title report. Additional expertise might be needed in the following areas: an appraiser, an environmental assessment company, a soils engineer, a title company, a surveyor, a landscape architect, a bonding company, a leasing broker, a mortgage broker and/or a lender, a space planner, an interior designer, parking consultants, an artist who creates “public art,” a public relations and/or an advertising agency, a property management company, and a contractor who oversees various subcontractors or other tradesmen. The long list of potential subcontractors to be hired by the contractor might include ...