4.1.6

Introduction

Once you have thoroughly researched the site, you can evaluate the information to decide whether or not the site will provide a good fit for a proposed project. This evaluation is called a viability analysis. If you are developing a specific project, it is often a good idea to perform a viability analysis on several sites to compare the positive and negative aspects of each before choosing a final site location. If you are developing a specific site, you may wish to compare several potential development options in order to maximize the effective use potential.

In order for a property to be viable, it must meet the following criteria:

·         Project is legally allowable

·         Project is physically possible

·         Project is financially feasible

·         Project is good choice for community

In this activity your design team will review several commercial development options for the site. You will review all of the information gathered about your project site and your proposed development options and consider the viability of each option. Finally you will present your recommendation for a commercial development on the project site.

Equipment

·         Engineering notebook

·         Pencil

·         Computer with Internet access

·         Decision matrix

·         Site plan

·         Project 4.1.10 Commercial Project Viability Rubric

Procedure

1.     Make a list of at least three commercial or institution development facilities that you have considered for the site. Your list may include some of the following facility types.

Paintball Arena

Internet Cafe-Recreational Center

Go-Kart Track

Fishing Pond/Pool

YMCA

2.    Review applicable codes, regulations, and zoning. Are all of the commercial or institutional facilities on your list legally allowable? Is a variance or zoning change necessary in order to obtain a building permit? Note that variances and zoning changes are routinely requested and should not automatically eliminate a commercial activity at this point in project planning. However, if the proposed activity will conflict with surrounding uses, a variance or zoning change may not be granted.

Yes, all of our proposed plans are allowable, and the zoning had to be changed from a farm zone to a more commercialized zone required to build a building of commerce.

3.    Eliminate project ideas from the list that appear to conflict with codes, regulations, and/or zoning and for which you anticipate a variance or zoning change is unlikely. Your teacher will act as the zoning board in order to approve any zoning variance requests.  Select alternate potential commercial projects that you consider to be legally allowed or for which you anticipate a variance or zoning change is feasible (per your teacher). Provide at least three potential project ideas.

Any establishment that is serving alcoholic beverages or has exotic dancers will not be permitted in this location, due to its close proximity to a school zone.

4.    Make a list of all of the important physical site characteristics that should be considered when choosing a type of facility to be constructed on the site. Examples include availability of utilities, environmental concerns, size and shape of property, location of floodplains and wetlands, etc.

This property is a rectangular shape, but the narrower portion of the geometry is road-front property, which does pose some issues when designing buildings, as retails buildings usually adhere to a longer road-front to allow more parking spaces that are closer to the entrance of the building.  Water runoff shouldn't be a problem; there is a pond on the property.  The ground is flat, which should aid in construction of the building, and the fifteen thousand square foot maximum for building size will easily work inside the constrains of the property.  The pond is not in the center of the property, so there is a large amount of continuous space to place a building or two.

5.    Approximate the square footage for each potential project. Then approximate the cost of the facility using the RS Means Quick Cost Estimator at http://www.rsmeans.com/calculator/index.asp. This site requires registration, but is free. If a specific facility is not listed, choose the facility that most closely resembles the project for which you are creating the estimate.

·    Record the Construction Type used for each project estimate.

·    Record the estimated Contractor’s Overhead & Profit, Architectural Fees, and Total Building Cost for low, medium, and high cost ranges for each project estimate.

·    Calculate the cost per square foot for the medium total building cost for each facility.

It is important to understand that the cost of construction alone cannot determine financial feasibility. The anticipated return on the investment must also be considered; however, we will not investigate investment return potential here.

The go-kart facility would probably have to be approximately 7,500 to 10,000 square feet to accomadate a maintenance center, ticket station, and management center.  The paintball facility would want to be a full 15,000 square feet if it was an indoor facility, otherwise a smaller area would be needed for housing equipment and administration, such as 5,000 square feet.  An internet cafe could be housed in a 5,000 square foot building.  A pool and fishing facility for the pond would be around 10,000 square feet, for showers, lockers, fishing gear, maintenance, and administration centers.  A YMCA center would probably be 15,000 square feet for the exercise facilities, meeting rooms, and other portions that constitute a YMCA.

9.    Based on the results of your decision matrix, choose the commercial project that appears to be the best choice for the site. Write a brief viability analysis and project proposal describing the type of commercial facility that your team recommends for the site. Justify your suggestion using the information you have gathered and your decision matrix comparison as evidence.


Based on the results of our decision matrix and our group's consensus, we chose the YMCA facility as the most feasible and effective commercial project for Wells County.  15,000 square feet appears to be a very good number for the area of a YMCA complex (without a swimming pool) and our community does not have very many facilities and activities directed towards young people.  Also, the close proximity of the lot to a school further enhances the accessibility of the building to the targeted age group.  Lastly, the decision matrix indicated this project idea to be the best by it getting the highest rating.