Service 02
Design Build
The traditional path: pay an architect for a complete set of drawings, put them out to bid, and discover the design is 30–40% over your budget. Redesign burns three months. Rebid burns another six weeks. Meanwhile, your lender's rate lock is expiring and your projected opening date is slipping. Design-build eliminates that loop — cost reality shapes the drawings from the first sketch, because the people who will build it are pricing it as it's drawn.
Design-Build vs. Hiring an Architect + GC Separately
Design-build is the right model when budget certainty matters more than design experimentation. If you need a guaranteed maximum price before breaking ground, if your schedule cannot absorb a redesign cycle, or if you want one contract and one throat to choke — design-build is built for that.
Separate hiring genuinely makes sense in two cases: (1) you already have an architect you trust and a completed set of drawings you're happy with, or (2) the project is design-forward — a museum, a signature restaurant, a branded flagship — where aesthetics lead and the architect needs full creative independence without cost constraints shaping every line.
For the other 80% of commercial projects — medical offices, warehouses, retail build-outs, multi-family — design-build delivers faster, cheaper, and with fewer change orders. We've completed over 500 projects this way.
Owners who want a single source responsible for design, permitting, and build — especially when budget certainty and schedule compression matter.
Not the right fit if you already have a completed set of drawings from an architect you love and simply need labor pricing, or if the project is a design-forward signature building where the architect needs full creative independence.
Speak with Danto
Get a straight answer on feasibility, budget, and schedule for your project.
Schedule ConsultationWhat 40 Years in This Market Teaches You.
Permitting across Broward's 31 separate municipalities — each with its own review cadence, fee schedule, and inspector expectations. We know which jurisdictions run 3-week reviews and which take 12.
HVHZ (High-Velocity Hurricane Zone) requirements under the Florida Building Code: Miami-Dade NOAs for glazing, roofing, and openings add 8–15% to material costs and 3–4 weeks to procurement if not planned early.
Hurricane-season sequencing: we plan dry-in milestones around June–November and maintain site-securing protocols for named storms — because a roofless building in August is an insurance claim, not a schedule slip.
Long-lead procurement realities: electrical switchgear and generators currently run 30–50 weeks. We issue purchase orders during design to protect your schedule.
How We Run It
Concept Meeting
Deliverable: Written program document
We sit with you and document your operational needs, adjacency requirements, budget range, and timeline constraints in a formal program document — before anyone draws a line.
Schematic Design + Budget
Deliverable: Preliminary drawings + line-item cost estimate
Our architect and estimator work side by side. Every design decision gets priced in real time. You see a budget that's accurate to ±10% before committing to full drawings.
Permitting & Value Engineering
Deliverable: Permit-ready construction documents + VE log
We submit to the jurisdiction, manage plan review comments, and deliver a value-engineering log showing every option considered and its cost/quality trade-off.
Construction
Deliverable: Weekly owner report with photos + 3-week look-ahead schedule
One project manager, one superintendent, weekly progress photos, and a rolling three-week schedule so you always know what's happening next.
Closeout & Turnover
Deliverable: Closeout binder with warranties, as-builts, and O&M manuals
Punch list, final inspections, CO, and a complete closeout package — warranties, as-built drawings, equipment manuals, and maintenance schedules — handed to you in a single binder.
Questions You May Have
What does design-build cost compared to the traditional architect-then-bid approach?
Design-build typically saves 6–12% of total project cost by eliminating the redesign loop and reducing change orders. The fee structure is usually cost-plus with a guaranteed maximum price (GMP), so you get budget certainty without paying a premium for it. On a $2M project, that's $120K–$240K in avoided waste.
What fee structures do you offer — lump sum, cost-plus, or GMP?
We offer all three depending on project stage. Most owners prefer a cost-plus arrangement during design (when scope is still evolving) that converts to a GMP once construction documents are 60–80% complete. Lump sum works for well-defined scopes with minimal unknowns — typically tenant build-outs with existing conditions surveys already done.
How long does a typical design-build project take from concept to CO?
A 5,000 SF tenant build-out: 4–6 months. A 20,000 SF ground-up commercial building: 10–14 months. A 50,000+ SF industrial facility: 14–20 months. The design-build advantage is overlap — construction starts on foundations while interior design is still being finalized, compressing the overall timeline by 15–25% versus traditional delivery.
What happens if bids come in over budget?
In design-build, this rarely happens because we're pricing as we draw. But if material costs spike mid-project (lumber, steel, switchgear), we present you with a value-engineering log: here's what we can substitute, here's what it saves, here's the trade-off. You decide. No surprises, no finger-pointing between architect and contractor.
Ready to bring your vision to life? Let's talk.
Whether you are evaluating a site, preparing a renovation, or planning a ground-up commercial development, an early conversation can help you clarify scope, timelines, budget considerations, and next steps.