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The Mercury Block II | Hodgson Schilf Evans

In my experience, the private sector can deliver housing at 30-50% of the cost that the public sector can usually delivery that same product and highlights the need for partnerships and cooperation.

I was in a meeting this morning where the public sector number was $725/sqft delivered where nearly an identical private project was at $285.
 
IanO said:
In my experience, the private sector can deliver housing at 30-50% of the cost that the public sector can usually delivery that same product and highlights the need for partnerships and cooperation.

I was in a meeting this morning where the public sector number was $725/sqft delivered where nearly an identical private project was at $285.
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I wouldn't be able to execute a project as well as someone like Westrich, or Beljan. This is despite having a decent understanding of trades, building code, market desirability, etc. I don't know why people expect beurocrats to be good at it.

I think if the government wants to build affordable housing they need an extremely strict criteria, and cost cutting measures that don't harm the quality of living in a unit.

I would build concrete 7-10 story apartments with no underground parking whatsoever, focused within 250 meters of rail transit. Copy and paste.
 
Barnaby said:
I would build concrete 7-10 story apartments with no underground parking whatsoever, focused within 250 meters of rail transit. Copy and paste.
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When former mayor Don Iveson was answering questions during a live podcast at last week's winter cycling conference he told a story of earlier on during his term when an Indigenous below market housing project was built with about 50+ units. There was underground parking built as part of the project at a cost of more than $1 million. And nobody used it. It was virtually empty. That was the catalyst he says to move the city towards no parking minimums.
 
IanO said:
In my experience, the private sector can deliver housing at 30-50% of the cost that the public sector can usually delivery that same product and highlights the need for partnerships and cooperation.

I was in a meeting this morning where the public sector number was $725/sqft delivered where nearly an identical private project was at $285.
Click to expand...
This sounds a lot like $725/sqft is including the soft cost vs $285 is the build cost.

There is no doubt though that a lot of public buildings cost more though. Part of the reason is I am certain architects look for the most expensive materials to build a building. curtain wall, fancy features, which is fine but it all costs money. Then the city chooses a GC like PCL, Graham, Ledcor, Bird, etc who all have zero intention on value engineering any of it. GCs like synergy, fillmore, pagnotta, who typically you mostly see in the private sector work with developers who if they can't get the cost to meet their proforma, they don't build, so value engineering comes into play.
 
Vacs said:
I'd love for you to point out some of the value engineering on any city rec center, the recent RCMP building debacle, RAM, etc
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While the approach might be different on certain public vs. private projects, most competent GCs will work with the client and consultant team to bring value to the project by way of suggestions or substitutes that often achieve most of the design or use intent with some savings. Now, these may also be done to build goodwill prior to the usual array of Change Orders and so the dance begins.
 
IanO said:
While the approach might be different on certain public vs. private projects, most competent GCs will work with the client and consultant team to bring value to the project by way of suggestions or substitutes that often achieve most of the design or use intent with some savings. Now, these may also be done to build goodwill prior to the usual array of Change Orders and so the dance begins.
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right, so again, in my experience. Public projects such as rec centers there is often little to no value engineering. Build as the drawings show.

When it comes to private, there is often much value engineering, substitutions, etc (PCL and all other listed above GCs have private clients as well and are included in this)
 
Hell the rec centres I've been involved with all have valued eng. But there comes a point when the VE is just to much and you have to pull the plug. Have of our days are looking for cost cutting somewhere on our projects. And its worst with Lump Sum projects. Some of the VE actually starts at the proposal stage.
 
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