NACDB: Building a Church?

• How much does it cost?
• How to pick a design/builder
• What to know about design/build
• The development process

First things first…your church saves money during the planning and design phase of your project, not in the construction phase. Make certain that you spend enough time and money up front to put your church in a position to bring your project in on time and under budget.

This is the question every church wants answered and every architect and contractor doesn’t want to answer. Why? Because there are many issues that can affect the answer – land cost, utility cost, interior and exterior finishes, audio/visual etc. However, we at the NACDB feel that it is appropriate to provide churches with a ballpark estimate up front.

Complete the Project Pricing Profiler to receive for more information on a cost estimate for your project needs.

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Do not base your selection on lowest price – make a determination on which design-builder gives you the most VALUE for your budget. The selection process can be simplified by using the following guidelines:

1. Understand both your short and long-term needs,
2. Ask the right questions of the design-builder,
3. Listen for the right questions, and
4. Build a team.

Understand your needs
Before you start the selection process, understand your congregation’s specific needs. Everyone wants the most space for the least amount of money and would like to build everything at once. However, most churches grow their facilities in phases. By prioritizing your ministry’s short and long-term needs (e.g. youth center first or bigger sanctuary first), you can make your design-builder selection process easier by matching their experience and expertise with your project requirements. Be prepared to answer the following questions. They may seem simple but you’d be surprised at how many churches don’t really have a clear or consistent reply.

1. Who are we trying to reach?
2. What building (or buildings) will help us reach them?
3. What can we afford?
4. How do we propose to afford it (stewardship campaign, financing, sale of existing facility)?
5. Where should it be (neighborhood, freeway, inner city)?
6. When do we want it finished?
7. What do we do with our congregation until it is finished?
8. How do we handle the growth once it is built?

Ask the right questions of the design-builder
Though the construction of church facilities shares many commonalities with retail development, the decision-making and communication processes are VERY different. Accordingly, you should choose a design-builder with specific church experience. Some suggested questions are:

1. Have you had experience designing and building Christian worship facilities?
2. Have you worked on projects similar to mine?
3.What is your process – how do you determine what we should build?
4. What are options to lower square footage costs?
5. Will you provide me with a guaranteed maximum cost?
6. What are the inevitable challenges you face on every church project?
7. What were some of the specific challenges you have encountered on your past church projects?

Listen for the right questions
You can gage the design-builder’s experience by the questions THEY ask of you. Here’s some of the things you should be hearing:

1. What is your membership?
2. What is your average worship attendance (AWA)?
3. How many services do you have on Sunday?
4.What are the times of the services?
5. What is your average education attendance for:
a. Adults,
b. College,
c. High School,
d. Junior High School,
e. Grades 3-5,
f. Grades K-2,
g. Preschool,
h. Toddlers, and
i. Nursery?
6. What times are you offering education?
7. What are the age demographics of your congregation?
8. What are your historical growth rates?
9. What is your current growth rate trend?
10. What age demographic is your projected growth coming from?
11. What style music do you have – traditional, contemporary, both?
12. What kind of musical instruments do you have?

Note that these questions are directed at understanding who your church is. A good church design-builder will capture the essence of your heart and direction and apply their experience to suggest a variety of design and building options that suit your needs. You should avoid letting them steer you toward any one option simply because that is the only experience they have.

Build a team
Successful building programs require entering into a relationship with someone that you can communicate with and work through issues with. This requires a team focus and commitment not unlike a marriage. Difficult issues arise and a high level of trust and respect is necessary to surmount those issues throughout the process. With that, the second to the last question to ask yourself is “Can I trust these people?”

Here’s what we hear from churches:
“Our architects designed something we can’t afford to build…”
“We came in way over budget due to change orders…”
“The architect says it’s the builder’s fault and the builder says it’s the architect’s fault…”

Design-Build meets these issues head on.

Definition
Design-Build is a method of project delivery in which one entity (design-builder) forges a single contract with the owner to provide architectural/engineering design service and construction services.

By contrast, with the “traditional” design-bid-build approach, the Owner engages an architect or engineer to prepare drawings and specifications under a design contract, and subsequently selects a construction contractor by competitive bidding (or negotiation) to build the facility under a construction contract.

Risk
In Design-Bid-Build or Construction Management contracts the owner, (you) warrants to the Contractor that design documents are free from error. In Design-Build, the opposite is true. The Design Builder warrants to the owner that design documents are complete and free from error. This eliminates finger pointing between the architect and the builder. In a guaranteed lump sum contract, the design-builder assumes all of the risk to deliver the project at the specified price. The only reason change orders may occur are for changes in project scope, which arise from the owner, not from errors in the design documents.

Pros and cons
Traditional – Design-Bid-Build Pros

• Process well understood by owners, architects, and contractors
• Allows for competitive bidding among both subcontractors and general contractors
• Provides the lowest price for a given set of documents

Traditional – Design-Bid-Build Cons

• Allows no input from contractors during the design phase
• May not provide the best "value" to the owner
• Often bids come in over budget due to change orders
• Takes more time for a thorough bidding phase
• Difficult to identify long lead items which can lead to scheduling delays
• Makes "fast track" construction difficult if not impossible
• Can lead to an adversarial relationship between the design team and the contractor

Design-Build Pros

• Design-builder is single source of responsibility
• Owner can influence the design and cost at an early stage
• Design team working together with builder can provide most creative solution to any problems
• Takes less time from inception of project through completion since bidding phase is reduced and major design revisions are made early rather than later
• Designer and builder are on same team eliminating adversarial relationships
• "Fast track" construction is facilitated
• Allows for early and frequent input by contractor regarding budget
• Can identify long lead items early to avoid scheduling delays

Design-Build Cons

• Does not guarantee lowest cost based upon a given set of documents
• Process not well understood by owner, architects and subcontractors
• Perception by owner that there are no “checks and balances”

Summary
Design-Build offers significant advantages over Design-Bid-Build. The single biggest obstacle for an owner to overcome is the perception that he will be paying too much because his project is not competitively bid. To overcome this issue, an owner should spend significant time qualifying the design-builders he interviews. A successful design-build relationship requires a high level of trust and that trust must be justifiable.

Building a church is a commercial scale development that requires considerable attention to literally hundreds of details. Historical averages indicate that it takes 18 to 21 months for the entire process. It can take as little as 12 months for a very motivated church. However, there are many variables that are outside the control of the owner and the design-builder. The most significant of these variables are civil engineering issues. Every municipality has different requirements and document review times can vary wildly from city to city.

There are three main phases to the life of a project:

1. Preliminary Design /Build Services – 3 to 4 months;
2. Construction Documents – 3 to 8 months;
3. Construction – 7 to 10 months

Preliminary Design/Build Services
Money is saved in the Preliminary Design /Build Services (planning) phase, not in the construction phase. Items addressed in this phase are:

• Needs Assessment
• Master Planning
• Preliminary Design
• Budget Estimate

Needs Assessment
Also known as “programming,” Needs Assessment includes meetings with the Building Committee and Staff to gather information about ministry objectives, congregation demographics, and budget parameters. This research will help determine the desired exterior image of the new facility, optimal size and character of the spaces, relationship of spaces, and other ministry directed facility issues. Some Needs Assessment activities are:

1. Analysis of the long-range plans and goals of the Church;
2. Recommendation, consulting, revision, and/or development of the Church’s long-range ministry plan;
3. Financial needs and abilities review. Recommendations and guidance on financing and lender options;
4. Analysis of current and future programming needs;
5. Recommendation for future space needs;
6. Analysis and development of a Master Plan of the ministry and traffic flow for the complete build-out of the church’s new property; and
7. Suggested schematic architectural design to suggest the size and
character of the design and construction of the project resulting in a
Schematic Design package that will include Floor Plans, Elevations,
and “Bird’s Eye View” drawings.

Master Planning
After Needs Assessment is complete, a Master Plan of the existing campus will be developed to document the vision of the Church. The Master Plan will identify all future structures, their usage and their placement on the property.

Preliminary Budget Estimate
A schematic architectural design will then be developed to further establish the size and character of the project. The schematic design will include floor plans and elevations for the initial facility of the Master Plan and further define the building layouts. The schematic design package will provide information to develop a preliminary budget estimate for the initial facility. The design-builder will sometimes solicit bids from consultants and subcontractors to help provide an initial construction estimate for the owner’s review and approval.

Items Delivered

• Master Site Plan
• Schematic Drawings
• Perspective or Rendering
• Preliminary Budget

These deliverables are normally presented to the congregation by the Church to raise funds. Please note that geo-technical and civil engineering studies are not included above. If these items are deemed necessary, the owner should be provided with an itemized estimate of costs before any tests are performed.

Construction Documents
This is the phase that most people think of when they think of architecture. In addition to a complete set of plans stamped by an architect, specification books are produced that identify the details of your project right down to the doorknob shape, color and material.

Construction
Translating a two-dimensional set of drawings on paper into a three dimensional tangible building with heating lighting and plumbing is the art of the builder. This is the phase where excitement in your church really builds, as physical progress is visible to the congregation. It is the pastor’s challenge to maintain the excitement while mitigating impatience in his flock. A culmination of prayer, planning, sacrifice and hard work, it is indeed a fantastic experience when you hold your first service or event in your new facility!