New Construction costs

I am wondering if anyone in the community has had any experience building a townhouse house from the ground-up.  I am thinking about purchasing an empty lot and would be curious on how long it would take to build a 4 story, 2 family house that was approx. 4000 s/f.  Does $800-$900K sound like a doable budget (not including land).  I would love to correspond with someone that has gone through the process.  Thanks

misconformist

in Architecture 11 years ago

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TheBrooklynCarriage | 11 years ago

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We are the homeowners of a new construction project. We are currently closing in on year 3 of the project and hopeful that it will end this year. We would be happy to provide more information via email if desired.

Guest User | 11 years ago

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We’re close to finishing a new 5,000 sq ft house in Clinton Hill now, and I can say that the $300 a foot is about right.  It was an empty lot used for parking between two Civil War era carriage houses, and  as “bond” pointed out, we ran into some unexpected surprises, such as no footings on the adjacent buildings, but a random footing within our lot, and just recently, an underground brick dome that we think may have been one of the most beautiful drywells ever built.   Jim Hill, RA, LEED AP Urbaqn Pioneering Architecture

curated | 11 years ago

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The numbers JCARCH quoted are spot on. Athough on on our new construction builds in that 300/sf range it usually ends up breaking down to about 270/sf for construction and 30/sf for architectural/engineering etc. Every project of course is different so numbers for each could be higher. Very tough to do new construction in nyc for less than 300/sf. And even at that, finishes will be decent but basic.

Bond | 11 years ago

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After having been the site super on a few projects like you describe, I would never undertake a new construction project that included excavation for a rowhouse unless it was on a site that previously had a house on it.  There are just too many variables that can really throw things off.  We had one lot that had a sewer pipe running through it.  The assumption was that it was an old pipe and no longer in use.  Wrong assumption.  We had to run dye tests with the neighbors to figure out just who was on it, then pay to re-route the pipe.  It was a nightmare both in time and money. It was one of those things that there was no logical reason for a sewer pipe to be in that location, but there it was.  Shoring and underpinning of the neighboring houses can be incredibly expensive, the guy I use charges 400 dollars a yard for underpinning  which sounds reasonable until you start toting up just how many yards of concrete goes into underpining.  It’s amazing how many NYC houses have no footings.  We had to use helix piles on another project due to the proximity of the subway, which the city sprung on us after the fact.  The case of the developer in Park Slope who requested a variance because he ran into some kind of concrete bunkers that Con-Ed had installed below grade comes to mind. When it comes to townhouses, I would only build on a site where a house had been torn down in the not too distant past so I would know there weren’t too many hidden surprises. Even then you’ll still find all kinds of nonsense (we found a car in one old backfilled cellar).  Sorry, I’m sure that’s not what I would want to hear if I were in your shoes, but it’s my experience.

jcarch | 11 years ago

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If your $900K, is only for construction, but not for architectural/engineering/inspection/etc. costs, you could do it, but it would be a tight budget.  If the $900K includes all those costs, then you’re going to come up short.  For a new building, a good rule of thumb would be to assume that all the secondary design/inspection costs will be 20% of the construction costs. I would work with a minimum number of $300 a foot.  That would break down to $250 a foot for construction, and $50 a foot for the architect, structural engineer, MEP engineer, city required controlled inspections, etc. A lot will depend on what sort of finished/fixtures you choose, whether your unit will have 1 1/2, 2, or 2 1/2 bathrooms, etc. You should expect 6 months for design and approval, and 9 months for construction.   jcarch————————               James Cleary Architecture brownstoner.staging.wpengine.com/jamescleary