Dental/Medical Design and Construction Planning
Working With a Single Source of Delivery
If you are a practice owner or manager and are growing and need to expand or perhaps desire your own stand-alone building, the task of determining the best space to meet your needs can at first seem daunting. This does not have to be the case. Working with a qualified and integrated team that can be your single source for complete design and construction will help paint the picture, count the costs and coordinate all construction activities for a seamless transition from planning through permitting and into construction. A professional team will ask appropriate questions, listen to your vision/needs and guide you through the process. Your time is valuable and cannot be spent trying to direct a design and construction process.
Variables to Consider
There are many variables to consider which will affect your end goal. A few of these might be whether you want to purchase land and build a new facility, have found space in an existing building that you would like to build out and lease or perhaps you have found an existing building that you would like to purchase and repurpose to meet your needs. If an existing space, most can be repurposed to meet your needs; the question becomes, at what level of repurposing? Your investment in the space can go from A to Z depending on your specific needs including such factors as size, conditions and type of space. If a new building, have you purchased the property? Is the entire site buildable? Do we have municipal utilities close to the site? If existing, how much has to be undone prior to renovation? By working with a professional design/build team they can help you determine what will be necessary to meet your needs by laying out an efficient and functional design plan and counting all project costs prior to moving forward into final construction.
Planning and Delivery Process
In years past owners would generally go directly to an architect/engineer and have a beautiful design prepared with little understanding or thought given to the project budget. What would generally occur and still does to this day is that while the design may meet their needs, they “bid” the job out to multiple providers only to determine the project cost exceeds their budget. Also important to mention, under this circumstance you the owner assume full responsibility for the design. So, the owner has a beautiful design that cannot be constructed without going through redesign incurring valuable lost time and money. This can be extremely costly if you are under a tight time frame moving from one location to another. In lieu of a close working relationship with their design/builder, they have minimized the relationship to one of a transaction bid out to multiple “general contractors” who may or may not have picked up everything in the design. Regardless, in this circumstance the owner will end up paying the price through lost time and often unexpected costs with the potential for a sacrifice in quality.
The 3-Headed: Quality, Service and Price
The old adage that you cannot receive quality, service and price is simply false. If you are working with a professional design/build firm, you should receive all three. You will receive quality as they are partnered with a trusted and qualified team, service as this should be inherent and proven in their ability as a firm to serve their customers and price as they are providing you with fair and real project costs through your taking the time to work closely together to design a space that is functional and predetermined to be within your budget. In providing all three, you have a qualified design/build firm who will assume full and complete responsibility for the project.
The Big Question
So, with all due respect, an important question to consider: why would you not want to partner with someone you can build a level of trust with as they help you plan; who will design a plan to meet your needs; and who will count the costs for you ensuring the plan is within your budget prior to moving into construction? Your investment meets your budget; you have a space that meets your needs within your budget and are partnered with someone you have developed a high level of trust with. Why would you want anything different?
If you have a need and have thought about planning for the design, renovation and/or construction of a new dental or medical space and would like a free consultation please contact PBS at 855.672.4010.
