A crucial aspect of your company’s real estate footprint is the design and construction of your space. Whether building out a location for the first time, relocating an existing office, or renovating your current workplace – you’ll need a strong team to lead you through the process.

A few specialty companies focus on commercial real estate project management only. Conversely, some architecture firms and furniture companies offer project management as an additional service.

Read Next: The Ultimate Guide to Your Office Build-Out or Renovation

The professionals on our project management team at AQUILA believe that having this platform within a full-service commercial real estate firm best positions us to help you build your dream office, on time and on budget.

The design and construction process for any space has several moving parts. Design development, permit submission, bid qualification, general contractor (GC) selection, and more. This complicated journey presents an abundance of opportunities to provide your firm with the best space for your needs.

When you hire a construction project manager from a full-service commercial real estate firm:

  • You can start the process earlier, preventing costly delays
  • You can leverage your project manager’s existing relationships
  • You will add a well-rounded and experienced leader to your team

 

Why Do You Need a Construction Project Manager?

Unless the scope of your construction project is very simple (or the landlord is insisting on managing the project themselves), it’s important to hire your own project manager. They will act as your representative and take things off your plate, allowing you and your company to focus on what matters most – your business.

 Read Next: Should You Use the Landlord’s Project Manager for Your Office Build-Out or Hire Your Own?

A construction project manager with local market experience and community relationships will bring extensive value to your project. Even if your company has a dedicated team to focus on your build-out, hiring an external project manager safeguards your budget, optimizes your timeline, and provides proactive leadership to the project team.

Read Next: The Ultimate Guide to Hiring a Construction Project Manager

 

Why Should You Hire a Project Manager From a Full-Service Commercial Real Estate Firm?

1. You can start the process earlier, preventing costly delays

When you hire a project manager from a full-service firm, your project manager and broker team can start working together earlier.

This enables you to select the best site for your organization, gives you more leverage during negotiations, and allows the entire build-out process to run more smoothly, preventing costly delays. If a problem arises, it’s very likely that we have experienced and solved a very similar issue as part of a previous project.

Read More: How Long Does an Office Space Renovation or Build-Out Take?

2. You can leverage existing relationships

When you hire a project manager from a full-service firm, they will likely already have a relationship with your broker. This working relationship can be a game-changer in the build-out process. It directly impacts communication and collaboration and, by extension, the eventual success of your build-out. This relationship can also help ensure that the business terms of your lease meet your construction needs.

When you are a full-service client of AQUILA’s brokerage and project management teams, we do everything within our power to deliver a real estate solution that is in your best interests. If you’re working with a firm that provides project management services only, the lack of brokerage input and internal accountability could impact follow-through, project close-out, and your satisfaction.

Read Next: 3 Benefits of Using a Project Manager for Your Renovation or Construction Project

If you’re represented by a broker from another firm, we would still love to help as we frequently work with clients in the same situation. The familiarity and shared experiences we have from running project teams with brokers outside of AQUILA help ensure the same level of communication and transparency that is key to your project’s success.

Our relationships with architects, engineers, general contractors, property managers, building engineers, and consultants allow us to get your project done efficiently. The speed and familiarity of communication in these relationships allow project execution and tactical responses to issues to progress faster than they would otherwise.

3. You will add a well-rounded and experienced leader to your team

Prior to joining AQUILA, our PMs worked for GCs, focused on strategic accounts for full-service construction firms, and managed real estate expansion for companies in-house.

Additionally, because our team is a part of a full-service firm, we work directly with tenants, owners, commercial real estate investors, and developers.

Read Next: Hiring a Project Manager for Your Construction Project: 7 Must-Ask Questions

This means that we see projects at every stage of the real estate process, from all sides. This helps us understand projects from different perspectives and allows us to address issues before they arise. That makes us better representatives for your team and your project.

We are constantly fleshing out scope, schedule, and budget gaps – crucial information no matter where you are in the process. Ultimately, your project manager should have a fiduciary responsibility to your project and see themselves as an embedded member of your team.

Because we work as third-party project managers for clients who have hired tenant rep brokers from other brokerage firms, we know how to be objective in dealings, no matter the issue. These opportunities help strengthen the mindset that we bring to all our projects: the client and the project are paramount, and we are accountable to them above all else, not to any broker or counterpart.

Read Next: 4 Ways a Project Manager Can Help You Save Money

 

Conclusion

The three reasons discussed above are a few of the aspects that we have found to be most important, time and time again. The value of hiring a project manager from a full-service firm (even if your broker works somewhere else) is something that you can’t afford to ignore.

Recently, as we have navigated through the pandemic, we have observed the effects on the world of commercial real estate. Our role as active members of the larger community has helped us stay up to speed with the latest research, surveys, and findings regarding the ever-changing trends and changes in the commercial real estate industry.

We are privy to the architectural, engineering, furniture, signage/sanitation, and health/wellness developments, and we see it from all sides of the coin. This full-service perspective puts us on the leading edge of thought leadership. Through our network of trusted partners, we will bring these insights to your project with speed, quality, and confidence.

The selection of your team’s project manager is one of the most impactful decisions that will ultimately determine the success of your commercial real estate project.

Want to learn more? Read some of our Project Management Case Studies.

Or, if you’re ready, fill out our project management consultation form and one of our expert design and construction project managers will be in contact with you soon.

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Miles Whitten | AQUILA Project Management

Miles T Whitten

Miles works with an array of clients on interior build-outs, renovations and ground-up developments. As a project manager, he is responsible for managing all aspects of the design and construction process for his clients.

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