PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE "STRATEGIES FOR GROWTH"

Select a site that will allow for future building and parking expansion.

Position your building on the site to allow for potential expansion in the direction that makes the most sense in terms of internal functions and exterior appearances.

When presenting building plans to zoning and planning boards, indicate on the drawings the potential future additions to the building.

If expansion will occur within five to seven years, design and install original mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection equipment to satisfy the requirements of the future enlarged building.

Consider building additional unfinished shell space that can be quickly finished when needed with minimal disruption to ongoing operations.

Consider the use of modular building materials, such as precast concrete or insulated metal panels, that can be removed and then reused on the skin of the building addition with little waste in material.

Create accessible raceways above the ceiling or in the floor to allow for future expansion and changes to computer and telephone wiring.

There are many other considerations when planning for future growth, including factors specific to each business. Your design/build general contractor can point out the options and offer cost versus benefit recommendations. Many growth strategies can be incorporated in your building at minimal impact on the original construction budget by careful programming and design.

DESIGN/BUILD-AS A METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION DELIVERY

In traditional contracting, the Owner commissions an Architect/Engineer to prepare drawings and specifications and then selects a contractor either by negotiation or competitive bidding. This method often takes much longer and results in projects that exceed the budget, only to require redesign. By contrast, using Crown Commercial/Roberts Construction design/build approach combines a designated Architectural/Engineering staff and our general construction management staff to work closely as a team, to produce a product which meets the Owner's needs, rather than simply acting as professional advisors to the Owner.

ADVANTAGES OF DESIGN/BUILD

Crown Commercial/Roberts Construction team approach provides a unique set of advantages not available in any other method of delivery.

• Single Source Responsibility. A single contract is signed between the Owner and Crown Commercial/Roberts Construction who in turn designs the project to meet the Owner's functional and budget requirements; prepares all contract documents and drawings; and executes and manages all trade contracts necessary to complete the project. The Owner looks to a single entity responsible for cost control, schedule adherence and quality assurance.
• By utilizing design/build, the Owner can exercise his design control over the process with the added advantage of continuously knowing the cost impact of each decision.
• Time Savings: Long-delivery items are identified and ordered early in the design process and phased construction is utilized to significantly reduce the total design-construct time.
• Cost Control During Design: Crown Commercial/Roberts Construction team, working closely with the Owner, develops a project budget and initial cost estimates early in the conceptual design state. Continuous estimating throughout the design process results in firm costs much sooner than the traditional process.
• Cost Savings: Overall costs can be saved through reducing design- construction time and value engineering.
• Value Engineering is a method of comparing alternative systems based on initial costs and life cycle costs. This process is ongoing and results in substitution of materials, design, equipment or systems thereby reducing the quality.

CONTRACT FORMATS

Crown Commercial/Roberts Construction uses a variety of contract formats in order to tailor a design/build program that will satisfy our clients. After the schematic phase and design development phases are completed we propose one of the following contract formats: