We have recently reviewed the projects we have built over the last 10 years. Reviewing the past is valuable for many reasons including developing a deeper understanding of how and why things worked the way they did. It can also reveal trends, highlight mistakes, and show opportunities.

We plan on sharing some of this history over the next few months.

This month we look at a general overview.

We have presented in this chart an average cost per square foot for all the projects we have built in the last 10 years.

Some top-level takeaways include confirmation that the most expensive projects to build are Ground Up, followed by Gray Shell and finally Remodel. It is also obvious that given the same initial starting condition (Ground Up, Gray Sheel, or Remodel) medical projects are more expensive. This makes sense as they often have more plumbing and electrical and special requirements. Restaurants share similar unique requirements and are more expensive as well. Industrial properties are often the least expensive both because they are often more simple and their size is often larger leading to economies of scale.

The numbers in the first chart are a single average of the entire 10 year period.  This chart includes averages for each year providing a trend of costs over time.

The building market crash in 2008-2010 is shown well here by looking at the general (blue) points which drop starting in 2009.

Medical varies significantly since this includes all construction starting points (Ground Up, Gray Shell, or Remodel).

The trend lines provide some evidence of gradual improvement over the last few years.