On behalf of the team members at Georgia
Civil, Inc., we want to thank you for your affiliation with our firm.
We are committed to providing an outstanding product to our clients
while providing unparalleled customer service. We are excited about
our recent launch of our improved website and the release of our first
newsletter below. The newsletters will be arriving to your inbox on a
monthly basis and will address a variety of site planning and
construction related issues. We hope that you find this newsletter
informative and valuable for your business. In the future, if you have
questions, or if we can be of further assistance, please do not
hesitate to contact us. Thank you for your time and best wishes!
The Georgia Civil Team
THE SCIENCE OF SITE SELECTION
Managing Development Risks and Moving Beyond Location, Location, Location
October 2009
Word Count: 632
Approximate Read Time: 2 Minutes
Name me one factor, besides a strong design team (wink, wink), that is more critical to the success of a development project than proper site selection, and I will send you a $25 gift card to your favorite store or restaurant. Got one? I didn’t think so. Site selection is where it all begins. It is the canvas in which developers, engineers, and architects paint. Virtually every design decision one makes from the execution of the property purchase to the installation of the last component, is tied to the opportunities and constraints the property possesses.
Thus, every business looking to relocate, every industry poised for expansion, every institution desiring a broader reach, completes thorough due diligence to ensure that the optimum property is chosen. Right? Wrong. Although there are some out there who take the proper steps to reduce their risks, many approach site selection with a very narrow focus that keys simply on the more obvious criteria like property price and property location.
The real estate mantra has for years been location, location, location. Although there is some merit to this old adage, location plays only a partial role in the success or failure of a project. On our website, we have a web page that talks about our site feasibility and analysis services. At the top of this page, there is an image we created that describes what we have witnessed firsthand when developers do not investigate a site before they purchase it. The sign reads:
FOR SALE – 13.4 ACRES
Priced to Sell: $25,000 per acre
Great Location!
Disregard the presence of mass rock, wetlands, and need to rezone to make a profit
Beside this sign, in the remainder of the banner, it reads “feasibility studies, planning, zoning representation… when the signs are not so clear. The signs are often “not so clear”, leaving the developer strapped with a parcel that does not meet expectations.
In our experience, it is predominately the larger commercial and industrial chains that go the extra mile to complete the proper due diligence before buying property. Contrary to popular belief, these companies do not complete these steps because they can afford to absorb the additional expense, it is often because they have been burned on a deal before, and now realize that proper site investigation is essential to their bottom line.
So, what does these mean for the small business owner looking to expand, the Church Building Committee in search of a new Church site, the non-profit agency considering multiple locations for their facility, or the manufacturer who needs to relocate to better reach his target market? Well first of all, upfront feasibility analysis does not have to break the bank. Balancing the site analysis task between real estate professionals, land planning and engineering professionals, and shouldering some of the research responsibilities yourself will greatly reduce the upfront feasibility study costs while narrowing your choices to the site(s) that meet the project criteria.
For a white paper on starting site analysis efforts for your future project, please click the following link:
For more information on Georgia Civil and the Site Development Analytics Collaborative
please click here. Thank you for your time and please let me know if we can be of service to you.
Todd Peaster
Georgia Civil, Inc.
706-342-1104
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