If you want to build something meaningful in the Metroplex, you’d better start pre-planning it. That’s always been true. But it may be more so now than ever.
A scorching hot construction market, the competition for appropriate sites, and volatility in the prices of materials such as steel and concrete make long-range planning essential.
“A lot of preliminary work goes into it,” says Jesse Pruitt, owner of Somervell Commercial Realty. “I don’t know how many hours. But it’s a lot of hours.” Pruitt has been responsible for the development, management and leasing of more than 50 million square feet of office, warehouse, build-to-suit and design-building facilities over his more than 35 years in the commercial real estate business.
After his architects and engineers work out the early stages of a project, “I will go to Bob Moore (Construction) to price my project.” He says he has worked with Bob Moore in that way on almost all jobs over the years.
Mark Duvall, vice president for pre-construction services at Bob Moore says getting into the planning early helps his firm do its best work for clients. “We partner with our clients early so they can make informed decisions on land acquisition, early expenditures and sit at the table during design with an eye toward constructability and budget.”
Such early planning, Duvall says, includes coming up with confidential preliminary budgets and construction schedules. But the company’s services for pre-planning a project go beyond that budgeting to site selection and due diligence.
Dallas-Fort Worth is one of the fastest-growing construction markets in the country, with the Dallas Morning News reporting that construction starts totaled $8.8 billion in 2018. Non-residential construction actually slowed in 2018 from its torrid pace of earlier in the decade.
“Land control is critical as DFW continues to build out,” Duvall says. “When land is available, we can work with developers and end users with tight timelines on land acquisitions.”