Adapting to Change: A New Era of Self-Storage Design & Construction

The external pressures on developing a self-storage project have reached historic levels. 

Inflation, interest rates, and construction costs are rising; the availability of capital is shrinking; and ongoing supply chain and procurement challenges are posing significant obstacles to a successful project, leaving very little margin for error. 

Simply put, the rules of the game have changed.

Gone are the days of applying historical costs to a new project, plugging that info into a pro forma, taking it to a bank, and expecting it to be right. There is also no room to go through a complete design before you truly understand what the real cost will be. More often than not, this will require you to back up, waste valuable time, and spend substantial sums of money to redesign the project. Even then, you’ll likely wind up settling on a lesser version of your vision. 

Getting it right the first time is crucial in today’s development market.

How do you accomplish this in today’s rapidly shifting environment? The key to a successful project lies in design-build, design-assist, integrated project delivery, or whatever the latest buzz word is. It doesn’t matter what you call it, they all mean roughly the same thing: assembling ALL of the relevant team members around the table from the earliest onset and adopting a truly collaborative and integrated approach to project delivery.  

Design-build is your best chance of success — whether you’re developing luxury car condos in the Carolinas or a three-story storage facility in the heart of downtown Orlando. 

There has been significant price movement (both up and down) over the last 18 months, making it extremely difficult to accurately budget project costs early in the process. Having your General Contractor engaged in a collaborative Design-Build process allows you to receive accurate and real-time feedback at each stage of the design – from early concept stages to Schematic Design (SD) and Design Development (DD) milestones throughout the design process, ensuring you know exactly where your budget is going to land. 

There is a far better way to control your budget without cutting corners, using sub-par materials, or settling on the cheapest available options. 

When you embrace the design-build project delivery method, you have all relevant project team members around the table early, brainstorming the most cost-effective ways to meet the demands and challenges of the project head-on. By identifying and addressing issues before construction begins and delays are encountered, you can produce a final design that limits surprises, curtails cost overruns, and avoids potential constructability issues.

Engaging with design-build experts early in the process helps eliminate unnecessary costs and reduce your risks across the board. 

By having a Design-Build General Contractor engaged early, you can also combat many of the supply chain issues that have delayed projects over the past several years. They should be in a position to release key trades early to get a jump on long-lead items such as electrical gear and HVAC units, while identifying alternatives that may have shorter lead times or better availability.

The difference between success and failure lies in those you choose to help turn your vision into reality — so choose your partners carefully. 

Identifying the right team members for a successful Design-Build project requires partners that are experienced in this type of project delivery, truly engage and embrace the collaborative process, and are committed to transparency throughout the process to ensure you, as the owner, have complete visibility into the cost of your self-storage construction project.

At Metrolina Builders, we’ve been practicing Design-Build since before it had a name, which is one of the reasons we don’t get hung up on what you call it. 

For more than 50 years, we’ve helped deliver projects that are on time, within budget, and exceed our client’s expectations. Our team works closely with our partners to understand their needs and goals, and we prioritize clear communication throughout the project, ensuring the greatest probability of success.  

By working together from the beginning, we can ensure that the project stays on track and that our clients leave a legacy that will last a lifetime. 

Want to learn more? Reach out today!