A building's value is set before the first drawing

A project is decided before the first drawing. Everything after it is protecting that decision. The four choices that set what a multifamily building can earn and what it costs are all made at the front end.

The four front-end decisions

• The site: what the code, the record and the ground allow on it.
• The pathway: the approval route, which sets the units, the timeline and the discretion involved.
• The program: the unit count, the mix and the sizes, read from the product the market rents.
• The construction type: set by the height and stories the pathway permits, and the largest single driver of hard cost.

Why they come first

Each one constrains every decision after it. A pathway chosen without a test fit can leave units on the table or commit the project to a hearing it did not need; a program set without the pro forma can fill a floor with units the market rents for less than they cost to build. Design can refine a good decision, and it can rarely repair a weak one.

What that means in practice

TECTO reads every pathway on every site, draws a test fit for each and prices it in the model before an owner commits to one. The design that follows is held to that decision.

Questions

When is the value of a development project decided?

Mostly at the front end, by the site, the pathway, the program and the construction type, before design begins.

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