Viability Analysis

Viability Analysis

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.

· Wake Board Shop

· Sports Facility

· Coffee Shop

· Fast Food

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.

The coffee shop and the fast food would require a change in zoning and codes but all are allowable.

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.

The highest scoring option on the decision matrix (sports arena) requires small changes in codes.

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.

· Size of pond

· Type of soil

· Proximity to other land features

· Land features

5. Approximate the square footage for each potential project. Then approximate the cost of the facility using the RS Means Quick Cost Estimator athttp://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.

Sports Arena~72000ft²

~7500ft²

Sport Track~3750ft²

Food Place~5000ft²

· Record the Construction Type used for each project estimate.

Movie Theatre II-A

Laser Tag I-A (with foam on concrete)

Sport Track (offices) I-A

Food Place II-A

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

Sports Arena~$1,563,485

Coffee Shop~$400,000

Wake Board Shop~$381,824

Fast Food~$725,000 to $850,000

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

Sports Arena~$130 per ft² to $143 per ft²

Coffee Shop~$36 per ft² to $74 per ft² (without vests/equipment)

Wake Board Shop~$85 per ft² to $105 per ft²

Fast Food~$145 per ft² to $175 per ft²

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.

6. 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.

The best choice for the site would be the sports arena. This is because not only did it get the highest score on the decision matrix, but it also would be the most practical. Although it isn't necessarily the best choice financially, it will still bring in revenue and will be a good tool for surrounding area sports teams of all kinds. We would have an all turf inside which would allow practice of all sports to occur with cleats and everything. This could also be used for concerts and events of those types if that becomes necessary for the revenue to be brought in.