Cost Plan

By using data from a cluster of similar purpose buildings (mixed use residential, office and retail) an elemental cost plan was formed using the gross internal floor area (GIFA). It is important to understand this is an early plan with a limited design specification so the cost may differ from the final estimates and of course tender bids.

The floors of the proposed building, including the basement, have a footprint of 440sqm, inclusive of the planned units and any access/egress points.

From the combined elemental analyses sourced from the BCIS database, a plan matching the proposed construction methods has been produced. Such methods include having:

• Concrete piling for use in forming a basement and ensuring the integrity of the walls.

• Steel frame structure.

• Pitched timber roof.

• Major demolition required prior to construction.

Elements are broken down into cost (£) per m2 then through that applied to the GIFA, also m2, of this proposed build in order to generate an estimate for that element of work.

The cost of this development, excluding landscaping which will likely be added as a provisional sum, sits at a total of £6,303,600. This figure is arrived at through consideration of all elements applied to the entire GIFA of the building at a rate of £2,060 a square metre.

Typically, a 3-5 storey building with residential apartments ranges from £1975-2500 per m2 to build. Shops and offices with a fit-out cost roughly £710-900 and £1650-2125 per m2 respectively (Spons 2020 pp.75-80). The elemental cost plan for the Westpack development puts the project as a whole at an acceptable £2,060 per square metre. On paper it would seem like a decent development to pursue however social location and geographical hindrances unsurprisingly play a large role in dampening a development’s success.