Once you’ve decided that your business needs a new and custom commercial building, you need to be realistic about what that involves. Planning a new home for your business is a big step, and it needs to be done right to avoid unnecessary costs.
The first step is to engage an architect who is familiar with commercial building design. Through a series of consultations, the architect can get a feel for the needs of your business and draw up plans. Your building must be functional, efficient, and attractive. For example, for a manufacturing plant, you’ll need to ensure that your new building can accommodate your machinery and equipment. Once you approve a plan, a cost estimate can be drawn up for the project.
A bank can advise you whether your project is affordable, and how much money you’ll need to borrow to complete construction. Your lender will look at your income and overall business plan to make sure you’ll be able to realistically pay back the loan. Do the work to make sure you get your financing right up front, to avoid cost overruns. However, it’s smart to add 5-10% to the project to help absorb any cost overruns.
Hire a construction company familiar with commercial building design and commercial construction to execute the plan. Your architect and bank can often recommend a commercial contractor with a good reputation.
Typically, commercial construction is more complicated than residential construction. For one thing, commercial buildings are often much larger and subject to strict budgets, building codes, and different regulations. Commercial building contractors know the difference between building a house and building a factory.
While your day is typically filled with running your business, you’ll need to make time to meet with your project manager. A project manager can oversee the project’s logistics, making sure that the architect and contractors work together to execute your commercial building design. However, you’ll need to be involved, especially when it comes to approving costs.
As the business owner, you are ultimately responsible for the project. You are responsible for choosing a competent architect and contractor. If the building is not in compliance with zoning regulations, you will be held responsible.
Constructing a new building for your business takes a lot of time, thought, and planning. A large project like this can be very stressful, but also ultimately very rewarding.
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