Multifamily Feasibility Studies: 5 Things to Consider

Calibrate your analysis >> fail fast >> build relationships >> build great buildings!

When you’re working in a tight market like Boston, where most of our built work has been, you need to understand how to squeeze the most out of every parcel. There’s no room for big misses, and as a result, developers often bring an Architect in early - in DD phases or even before - to help them determine what might be possible on a given site. Many have a go-to Architect they use routinely for work like this, someone who knows them, their priorities, and their market.

In my experience, good developers know zoning pretty well, and can often do a good bit of the analysis, but they also know when to bring in subject matter experts to really lock it in. Good Architects know how to do this kind of analysis with a balance of speed, accuracy, and creativity, taking into account the developer’s priorities, community needs, local knowledge, and the realities of construction and the regulatory process.

Here are a few things we do right out of the gate, when working for developers on feasibility studies:

1. Ensure the developer has everything they need for the study

2. Dig into the zoning

3. Lay out the building envelope

4. Determine egress locations and look at fire code

5. Determine proto unit layouts

Keep in mind - the key is for a developer to know how in depth they need the analysis to be, and for the Architect to calibrate their approach - there’s a time and place for the back-of-the-envelope analysis, and there’s a time and place for a serious deep dive. Developer and Architect should be on the same page about this before going in, and adjust their expectations for accuracy accordingly. Going in, everyone should know whether we’re talking about ballpark, neighborhood of the ballpark, or seat in the ballpark accuracy levels of analysis.

Ok, let’s dive in. [Remember, this is just an overview, and there are subtleties to your market and jurisdiction that could make some of these steps look quite different.]