design/build Archives

The Future of Senior Living

Posted on September 28, 2022 | by Savannah Sokol

Two weeks ago, I attended the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC) in Washington, D.C. As always, it was good to see old friends and clients, and interesting to get a read on the industry. There were really no surprises, but it’s good to get intensive confirmation of what’s going on.

Senior living development is really a somewhat bifurcated proposition at this point. Though we are still building and have recently started a number of assisted living/memory care (AL/MC) projects, most of the developers are not bullish on this sector right now. Operating costs are up dramatically, interest rates and construction costs continue to rise, occupancies have not fully recovered, and rents have not yet risen to cover the increased expenses. There are some AL/MC developers that think that they just need to forge through, that it’s just a bump in the road and all will be good,...

Switchgear Demand Craziness!!!

Posted on September 20, 2022 | by Savannah Sokol

Behind the critical milestones of building dry-in and completion of drywall hanging, the date of permanent power provides a key indicator of a project’s schedule trajectory towards completion. Unfortunately, the current construction industry is being severely impacted by major challenges within the electrical gear industry driven by demand, labor issues, and electrical component shortages. Critical switchgear components such as switchboards, distribution panels, and heavy-duty circuit breakers have historically taken four to six months to receive. Over the past year, lead times on these items have increased to a minimum of 12 months, and quoted lead times of 14-18 months are becoming the standard.

So how does this impact the construction industry? For comparison, a $25 million senior living project with a construction schedule of 18 months, would typically require permanent power to be in operation by the twelfth month of construction to allow the startup-up of essential HVAC equipment, building systems,...

Value Engineering or Contingency??

Posted on September 8, 2022 | by Savannah Sokol

Inflation, fuel prices, material escalation, and material shortages are pushing construction prices to record highs. Already tight project budgets are being value engineered, tabled in hopes that pricing will come back to earth in the future, or just abandoned. Like everything else these days, the typical value engineering process is not as effective as it once was. When project pricing comes in over budget, we have historically provided a list of suggested alternate materials, methods, and/or systems to help bring the cost back closer to budget if needed.

Currently, inflation is working against project teams trying to value engineer projects. On several recent projects, material escalation has negated any value engineering efforts. Meaning…during the time it takes to price VE alternates, and get the accepted changes into the design documents, the pricing of the other trades and materials has increased an equal or larger amount of the costs saved from the approved value...

No One Can Whistle a Symphony

Posted on August 25, 2022 | by Savannah Sokol

“No one can whistle a symphony. It takes an orchestra to play it.” Famous quote by H.E. Luccock.

Closing a job and seeing it to the finish is not easy. Most in our industry would tell you it can be the least favorite part of the project. Most would also tell you it is impossible to live in fantasy land after working through the challenges of the last two years. There’s no magical bench of labor we can pull from and have crews arrive onsite the next day when needed. There’s no la-la land where the material is in stock and can be pulled off the shelf for overnight delivery. At The Douglas Company (TDC), our core purpose is to contribute to the success of our clients and associates. The industry has changed which has required us to adapt and change with it.

The All American Assisted Living at Enfield...

Don’t Get Soft on Wood Buildings

Posted on August 11, 2022 | by Savannah Sokol

Wood structures seem to have gotten a bad rap the last few years. It’s not entirely their fault. The skyrocketing land costs have pushed projects to go to more stories than a conventional wood frame building allows to get the number of units needed. Massive price hikes and volatility of material costs have also made it a less desirable building material to use.

Throughout the years The Douglas Company has proudly worked hard to build as much of our work out of wood as possible. We thought we should revisit the good reasons and tactics for doing so that still exist today.

Wood framing is simply faster than other methods. Modular and panelized systems abound in our industry now, but none of them from our experience go up faster than a wood-framed structure. Despite some of the scary lead times we’ve seen over the last two years, wood framing materials involve many...

As Boring as Dirt – Understanding Your Site Construction Options

Posted on July 14, 2022 | by Savannah Sokol

It is easy to focus on the building cost per square foot in the preconstruction process, but the site costs can make or break a project. Too often we see scope creep on the project site after the initial site plan, and it takes asking the right questions and getting creative to bring these costs back in line.

As your civil plans develop and soils reports become available, make sure you’re asking the design team these questions:

Grading - Are the buildings at the right elevation? The finished floor level is usually set early in the design process, but as more requirements become known it may not be the right height anymore. Raising/lowering a finished floor level can help reduce soil import/export, and can have positive impacts on your storm sewer layout as well.
Deep Foundations/Undercuts - It seems that poor soils are an issue on most projects we are looking at...
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Technology Advances in Construction

Posted on June 23, 2022 | by Savannah Sokol

As the world continues to evolve with technology, so too does the construction industry, albeit at a much slower rate. Looking back over the last 15 years, it is incredible to think about how much technology has changed in our daily lives. Smartphones weren’t very prevalent and the first generation of the iPhone had just been released. Businesses used fax machines instead of email to transmit information, very few people knew what the cloud was, and drones, as we know them today, didn’t exist.

As it relates to the construction industry, 15 years ago I can remember physically mailing sets of drawings out to people for them to bid jobs and waiting for their faxed bid to come through. People used an actual camera to take pictures, and submittals were wet stamped and mailed to the design team for their review.

All of the efficiencies gained through technology really are fascinating. To...

How The Douglas Company’s proactive approach keeps projects on schedule

Posted on June 8, 2022 | by Savannah Sokol

In today's construction world, more and more time and resources are spent on scheduling, and with good reason, too. With the high cost of construction loans and general conditions, contractors and developers alike can agree that the sooner we hand over a building the better for all those involved. Project milestones, proper sequencing, and task and crew logic are all scheduling terms that are thrown around on a weekly basis when discussing how we get the job done as soon as possible.

But what if I told you there was something else besides scheduling that can hold up progress on your project just as much as a missing drywall crew or bad schedule logic? Wouldn’t that be something we need to be cognizant of?

I am talking about inspections, of course. Inspections are a necessary step in the construction process to provide a third-party audit that the work meets all code requirements...

Capital Investment Remains Strong in the Active Adult Space

Posted on May 25, 2022 | by Savannah Sokol

Some developers and investors are unsure about committing to new senior living developments amid rising construction costs and interest rates, while others remain bullish on building new communities figuring that demand will be outpacing supply for the foreseeable future. I have even heard from some clients that they really push to get new developments going in this environment when other potential new projects may be holding off which gives them a leg up in a given market.

One segment that continues to gain steam is active adult according to a recent article in Seniors Housing Business’ April Edition. Active adult communities target those 55 years old and older that are ready to rid themselves of all things associated with home ownership, but are young and healthy enough that they don’t require assistance with daily living activities. These communities are not as labor- or service-based as an assisted living community because they...

Driving Rents With Amenities

Posted on April 7, 2022 | by Bob Ritter

The multi-family market has certainly evolved over the last several years. From the types of amenities renters demand, to an influx of new single family build to rent communities. Not to mention the changing renter demographic. While millennials make up one of the largest rental cohorts, the age 55+ Baby Boomers are selling their homes and opting for a more convenient lifestyle.

According to Forbes, in the last decade, the multifamily market has experienced hyper growth. Even during the pandemic, 2020 saw a 50% increase in multifamily units, compared to that of 2019. Rents in multifamily housing markets have continued to climb. Yardi Matrix reported in February that year over year rent growth increased 15.4% and occupancy rates of 96.9%, surpassing the previous record of 96.5% in 2000.

Today’s renters are demanding more and different amenities. This includes everything from storage areas or lockers for packages, trash valet services, community dog parks...

Design Build – We’ve Only Just Begun

Posted on October 15, 2021 | by Bob Ritter

"..white lace and promises, a kiss for luck, and we're on our way". Yes, that is the opening lyrics by Carpenters, but what a common association when most people hear the word DESIGN-BUILD. If done correctly, Design-Build can be all sunshine and rainbows; however, We've Only Just Begun!

DBIA forecasted that by 2025 design-build is anticipated to represent up to 47% of construction spending. The Douglas Company has found that our successful design-build projects have three common factors:

Early Involvement with The Douglas Company
Clear Definition of Expectations
Alignment between Owner and Design-Build Team

These factors are critical to a clean, fast-paced process. Our ability to influence the project's design is most appreciated and provides the best value to the owner prior to construction and issuance of subcontracts and purchase orders. The industry's increased project complexity and fast-paced schedule demands align best with the benefits provided by our design-build teams. Utilizing design-build also creates...

Design Build, the Future?

Posted on September 14, 2018 | by jyoakam

The primary design method used in the construction industry is design-bid-build, which is where a Developer hires a design team to complete design documents and also hires a contractor, under a separate contract, to build off those documents. An alternative to this approach is a design-build contract which is where the Developer hires a single entity, often times a contractor, to take on the building and design responsibilities for their project. In a recent study performed by FMI, they are projecting by 2021 the design-build delivery method to reach nearly half (44%) of the construction put in place which would be an increase of 18% from today. That is a rather large increase in only a three-year span. Why the shift? Design-build promotes more of a collaborative/team approach, working together to meet the developer’s schedule and budget, whereas the more conventional design-bid-build, tends to be a little more contentious between the...