You wouldn’t buy a house without an inspection or a car without a test drive would you? It makes sense that before you commit yourself to such an important investment you want to make sure that what you are buying meets your expectations and needs; that it will do what you want it to do. Just as you wouldn’t buy a house or a car without carefully examining it you shouldn’t purchase a piece of property for your project without carefully assessing it to make sure it meets your needs. At EVstudio we are often asked to help developers and individuals to assess a piece of property before purchasing.
Based on our experience and an understanding of what your goals for the site are we can carefully examine your site through a Feasibility Study and advise you on whether the property would be suitable for your project. The goal of a feasibility study is to identify any potential issues that may impact the project. During a feasibility study we will research the site to locate as much information as possible, studying the terrain, site drainage, zoning and site utilities. We will study the zoning and compare it to the use you would like to see, study the parking and landscaping requirements, the setbacks and easements. We will asses the terrain and site drainage, checking for flood plains or unusual terrain. We will check for the location and capacity of water, sewer and electricity. Once we have located all of the information about the site we can better advise you on the possibilities and challenges associated with your site so that you can begin your project with open eyes and the confidence of knowing what lies ahead.
A recent example of how a feasibility study can benefit your project is a church we have been working with as they finish their building campaign and prepare to build a new building. When we first met with them they were not quite ready to begin building but they were excited about and getting ready to acquire a piece of property that would be the future home for the congregation. They asked us to give our opinion of the site and we walked the site with them along with our normal site research. While researching the site we learned that a portion of the property was in a flood plain and so could not be developed and that a portion of the steeply sloped site was leveled with un-engineered fill which would require extensive structural engineering to build on top of. We also discussed the church’s plans with them, how big a building they were thinking about building, how much parking that would require, how much space would be required for landscaping and storm water detention. As we discussed it everyone agreed that the site was not a good fit for the church and their project. While we could have designed a building for that site, it would have been severely limited by the site conditions and would have required more expensive construction types that would have stretched the church’s budget. Armed with a better understanding of how much space they would need for their project they continued their search.
We recently studied a second site with them that is a much better fit for their project and their goals. The new site will allow us more options with how to develop the site and give us more cost effective construction solutions. By taking the time to do a feasibility study we were able to provide the church with a much clearer picture of their needs as well as the characteristics of their site.
