Design Management (“DM”) encompasses the oversight of all aspects of a Real Estate project as the conceptual plans are fleshed out. The details for the vision of the various entities, including the Developer/Owner and the approving agencies must be brought together and specified in a way that all who will be involved in the eventual construction will have the same interpretation of the vision. In order to facilitate this, various experts will be brought together and their coordination is essential to the complete and timely process of design. The tasks of Design Management include:
Architectural Administration. DM services with regard to architecture would include providing scope of work guidelines for RFP in a competitive environment, pricing evaluation and bid award, administration of the architect’s contract, processing of the monthly invoices, assisting the architect with value engineering, governmental processing, and coordination of the architect’s work with the other various project consultants.
Additional Design Consultants. Solicitation of competitive bids for construction related consultants including Civil and Geotechnical Engineers, if needed, and the selection of the qualified consultants. Contract administration, field oversight, and day-to-day coordination of the construction consultants.
Utility Coordination. Provide for the expedient applications for all required utility installations, upgrades and modifications.
Preliminary Pricing. Obtain preliminary cost estimates for overall project costs based on the approved conceptual drawings to help determine the project design, general scope of construction, and preliminary project schedule.
Governmental Processing. Working in conjunction with the project architect, to coordinate submittal of the preliminary design plans, engineering plans, and final working drawings to the city planning department, building department and engineering department for all required governmental reviews and approvals, as needed.
Working Drawings, Plans and Specifications. Coordinate and oversee the finalization of the working drawings by overseeing the activities of the design professionals, including architect, structural engineer, landscape architect, electrical and mechanical engineers, as required.
City Permits. Coordinate with the project Architect to determine what permits are required and prepare a schedule identifying the timing and fees for obtaining those permits, as applicable.
Easements/Encroachment Permits. Oversee the successful application and processing for all required adjacent property easements, public right-of-way encroachments and other such documentation necessary to permit and construct the project.
Value Engineering Study. In cooperation with the general contractor and Architect, determine a target list of value engineering items that may be considered as acceptable alternates to the current design.
Project Contract Negotiations. Negotiate the specific terms of the professional service agreements and contracts with each of the design professionals for the Project to prepare documents, as necessary.