Construction Budget 605 Bronson Ave

An assignment about whether a building should be built, not what it should look like. The site is 605 Bronson Avenue and 275 Chamberlain, and the question is put twice: once to the site as it stands, once to a fourteen storey proposal.

Both options are taken through the same three stages. Site analysis fixes what the zoning actually permits, from lot area and setbacks down to the minimum parking count. A construction budget prices the programme by gross floor area. Then a pro forma converts that into a loan, a monthly payment and thirty years of interest.

The conclusion is the useful part, because it is not the flattering one. Holding the property is not economically viable, since the annual return sits near three per cent. Selling two years after completion returns roughly eighteen. The honest recommendation was to wait until construction costs and material prices come down, and only then build.

Learning to run those numbers is what stops a design being an argument you cannot defend in a room with a client in it.

Produced as Group 6 for ARCC 4500.