After prevailing in the interview process for the architectural and engineering of this project, we were excited to begin the design in the Arts & Crafts style, as requested by the Building Committee. After completing the Programming phase, the project was to include: an entrance Foyer; large Restrooms; a Sanctuary to seat 500, expandable in the future; a Cry Room; a Nursing Mothers Room; a Toddler Nursery; an Electronic Media Production Room; a Fellowship Hall designed for use as a Dining Hall and a basketball floor, among other uses; a small Stage; 30 Classrooms for 15 people each (average); a Kitchen; 7 Offices; 2 Libraries; a Conference Room; a Work Room;  and storage, janitor’s closets, mechanical rooms, additional restrooms, and all of the other typical support spaces in a great Sanctuary building like this one, with a total area of about 25,000 sf.

Initially, the church selected another construction manager, and with the detail of this building program in an aesthetic Arts & Crafts design, the project cost from this CM exceeded the budget by over $1M.

To cut a stressful story short, the church agreed for us to use our experience in Construction Management to work with the local contractors. We stepped in, bringing our experience to bear in both design and delivery, and the project was completed in budget.

This is a great example of the range of differences in the professional services of this industry. CM requires seeing the “big picture” and then strategically solving the pieces of the problem and fitting the project together. It requires experience and a confidence that the sub-contractors can sense, which gives them confidence to give their most competitive pricing and move forward.