With countless Lehigh Valley commercial construction projects to our credit, our Jerdon Construction team knows more than a thing or two about the process from start to finish. We’re always answering client and stakeholder questions about recommendations and best practices to ensure a smooth and seamless commercial build or renovation. Today, we’re compiling those relevant insights into a helpful guide for anyone preparing to launch a commercial construction project. Just knowing what to expect and understanding the phases involved in a commercial build can help you organize your next steps. If you have plans in motion for a project in 2024, reference this ultimate guide and let Jerdon help!
Conducting Thorough Location Searches
You might already have an idea about where you’d like to build. However, conducting a thorough location search analyzing a variety of aspects is mission-critical to the long-term success of your project. Location is everything for any business. And getting assistance from property agents and real estate pros with commercial property experience is key. Here are just a few of the location-based considerations to review before settling on an address:
- Nature of the soil, topography, and ground conditions
- Zoning requirements and guidelines
- Water supply and utility access
- Proximity to other properties and businesses
- Accessibility for today and years ahead
Preparing for Planning and Development
Bring in the best of the best with experience building commercial projects like yours. Verify past work, talk with past build clients, and choose only those partners who are versed in anticipating challenges, are goal-oriented, and have the local connections needed to facilitate your project. During the preparations for project planning and development, find and hire the following professionals:
- Architects/Engineers
- Land Developer
- General Contractor
Securing Your Commercial Project Financing
You’ll want to carefully consider financing options for your Lehigh Valley commercial construction project. Your loan amount may vary, but typically, lending amounts range between 70% and 90% of the project total. Additionally, there are different loan types to consider to best suit your project. Just be sure to avail your financing before moving forward with other steps in your commercial construction endeavor. Here are some lending solutions worth exploring that may make sense for your particular project:
- Equity Providers: Private equity funding or stock option funding
- Institutional Investors: Insurance or pension funding
- Debt Providers: Banks or credit unions (secured or unsecured)
Pre-Design and Design Phases
When you’re ready to pursue pre-design and design efforts, you’re ready to put official roadmaps in place for your project. During this step of the process, you’ll be collaborating with your architect and General Contractor to rough out potential designs and eventually finalize official drawings to represent your vision.
Pre-Design
During the pre-design discussions, you’ll primarily address the following four pillar concepts.
- Feasibility
- Schematics
- Design Development
- Contractual Documents
Design
Once the pre-design ideas are agreed upon by all stakeholders, your architect will complete a full set of official drawings to represent the commercial project’s specs. And you’ll likely engage a host of engineering professionals to advise on compliance, codes, and structural integrity. These pros might include:
- Structural Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Electrical Engineering
Bidding and Procurement
Your general contractor will attract the subcontractors and suppliers needed to facilitate your project with bidding phases. They will obtain quotes from various local professionals who want to partner on your project. Your drawings and bid packages should come from your commercial construction team. In addition to securing service vendors for your project, procurement also involves gathering the required materials, workforce, and equipment.
Pre-Construction and Construction
Once you’ve identified all your vendors, you can begin moving forward with pre-construction vetting and officially begin construction of your new commercial project. Here’s where your chosen teams begin taking action to execute your pre-determined designs.
Pre-Construction
It’s during pre-construction that you’ll assemble your team of professionals and conduct building site inspections. The pre-construction soil testing and risk assessments take place, as well. And once all compliance components are met, the official construction phase begins.
- Permits (building permits based on finalized designs)
- Insurance (builders’ risk, general liability, and workers’ compensation)
Construction
With everyone assembled and final inspections completed, you’re ready to begin construction. Depending on the nature of your project, there might be a site preparation first step, whereby excavation is needed to clear the site and install necessary drainage systems. Your teams will also set up temporary storage and arrange for water, sanitation, and power, as well. Generally, construction builds follow this series of steps:
- Foundation
- Concrete
- Steel
- Framing
- Exterior
- Roofing
- Interior
Ultimately, your designs and discussions come to life during the construction process. And as each phase of construction progresses, you’ll move one step closer to project completion.
Shortlist of Additional Commercial Construction Project Tips
Facilitating a Lehigh Valley commercial construction project is a complex endeavor. These best practices, tips, and insights can guide you through each phase. First, familiarize yourself with various commercial construction terms you’ll need to know. Then, follow the aforementioned steps, keeping the following tips in mind.
Onboard TOP Quality and Experienced Professionals
Vet every professional thoroughly before officially partnering with anyone. Look to identify managers and contractors who have direct experience with projects similar to yours. Here’s a list of common questions to ask any commercial construction partner.
Know Your Contractor Delivery Methods
Project delivery methods do vary. So know if you’re exploring construction manager at risk (CMaR,) design-build (DB,) or design-bid-build (DBB) methods. Understanding the delivery methods, renovations, and remodels included, will help your team assign costs and responsibilities accordingly.
Be Concise with Developing Your Project’s Budget
Know your project’s budget, but be prepared for unexpected expenses to occasionally arise. Ideally, your official budget should be substantial enough for overhead, direct costs, and indirect build costs. And it’s a good idea to segment reserve funds of 5% to 10% for contingencies.
Assign Responsibility for Documentation Management
Any commercial construction project is going to involve tight management of a series of official documents, government certificates, building permits, environmental approvals, and other forms. Consider delegating dedicated responsibility for organizing these essential documents.
Set (But Be Flexible) with Your Project’s Schedule
Your project will follow an estimated schedule and timeline to completion. Set parameters and goals with your project teams in keeping these schedules. But it’s important to also be flexible, considering delays in permitting or weather, to maintain realistic timeline expectations.
Favor High-Quality Materials
Your commercial construction project is a hefty investment. Make sure you’re investing in the highest quality materials possible within your budget. You’ll want your building to last for years to come, so durable materials matter. But you can also be mindful of securing systems and materials that meet sustainability standards, require less maintenance over time, or are automated.
Jerdon Construction: Lehigh Valley’s Premier Commercial Construction Partner
If you’re preparing for a commercial construction project in 2024 in the beautiful Lehigh Valley, you can trust this guide to inform your efforts. However, you don’t have to be a commercial construction expert to facilitate a seamless project, especially when you partner first with Jerdon Construction. Our team combines decades of experience in the area with a host of various commercial construction projects. Headquartered in Allentown, PA, we serve businesses and organizations of all sizes and industries. We partner with a variety of local clients in retail, healthcare, education, offices, restaurants, faith-based, as well as non-profit organizations.
Learn more about our past work here. Connect with us, and let’s start discussing your project! We can answer all your questions and provide the actionable insights you need to move forward with a successful build!
