CREJ

May 2018 — Multifamily Properties Quarterly — Page 43 www.crej.com Affordable Housing Spotlight S o, the shortcomings of the blind men and the elephant were all about limited per- spective. One man thought an elephant was like a spear, another thought it was like a rope, another a wall, and so on.While each man had a good perspective, there was no communication, no shar- ing of perspective. If a facilitator had stepped in to encourage communica- tion, the blind men together could have described a more holistic picture of what an elephant really is, and the idea of the whole elephant would have been born. The same lesson can be applied to a construction manager/general con- tractor, who is leading a cost-contain- ment effort in preconstruction. “The communication process is the most important process in afford- able housing,” said Brandon Gentrup, senior preconstruction manager for Pinkard Construction. “The CM/GC must coordinate the communication process and rely on each teammem- ber to contribute his unique perspec- tive to allow the project to reach its full potential for budget and program- ming and give the owner the best chance of gaining funding approval.” While effective teaming always makes a difference, it is especially important with affordable housing projects. Because of the protracted funding phase, a project teammay need to work together twice as long as on a project that is not using low- income housing tax credits. This pro- tracted duration requires good team- ing relations, transparency and dedi- cation to budgetary goals. The various available funding sources typically in play require budgets to be submitted up to a year or more ahead of construc- tion. “A good CM/GC partner is going to stick with you to the end,” said Gentrup. “As an example, we’re just now starting a LIHTC project that we were awarded in 2015. On another on-going project, I started working with the owner in 2013.” In order to make a great budget, an interactive, transparent team under- stands that the funding effort doesn’t always succeed the first time out and is willing to stay with the effort for as long as it takes. “Staying with the effort” can mean redesigning, rebud- geting, and re-evaluating priorities and programs, etc. It is during this “re-” phase when creativity, transpar- ency and patience can be a team’s greatest asset in overcoming budget shortfalls or devaluation of tax credits. A nimble and responsive team also will do a lot of soul searching about priorities. Common considerations should include how much money they have to work with, how many units they really need, what the building has to look like: Can it be less? Can it be more? And what does the project really need to be. This approach can provide the absolute best bang for the client’s buck. On a recent Pinkard affordable housing renovation, the client had 66 existing units and planned to add 33 by adding a fourth story to the exist- ing structure. But the team didn’t trust the existing building’s structural capacity. After soul searching and considering dozens of unique design iterations, the idea of constructing a new building inside the existing courtyard was born. Thanks to owner transparency, a creative and flexible architect, and a clear understanding of real-life budgetary constraints, the owner received a brand-new building and a full gut and renovation for the original budget – all facilitated by a team-focused CM/GC working in an ego-free environment. Ego-free interaction results in own- ers being flexible with their programs, architects finding creative design solu- tions for ideas that initially seem to be dead ends, and contractors being will- ing to state the truth, even if it’s ugly. “The best thing I can do as an esti- mator is tell you the truth,” said Gen- trup. “It feels awful when I have to deliver unpleasant budgetary news, like all eyes land on me. But, I can’t control the market, and an ego-free team understands that. They accept the situation and work toward a cre- ative solution.” Your nimble and responsive team should include nimble and responsive subcontractors who understand the market and are willing to act as loyal teammembers.With current subcon- tractor backlogs at six to 10 months, it is critical that the team selects the subcontractor teams early in the sche- matic design phase. s Ego-free teamwork essential to contain costs Ned Foster Proposal writer, Pinkard Construction Pinkard Construction Stair core scaffolding and framing is underway for Building B, in the foreground, which was constructed inside the courtyard. The existing-building gut and renovation is underway in the background, including a new skin, roof and catwalk.