Request For Proposals - Construction

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Construction costs are by far the most expensive part of your development budget.  So you want to make sure you are getting a competitive market price for your building, and are hiring the right GC for the job.  Soliciting proposals from multiple competing general contractors through an RFP is the primary way developers achieve these goals. 

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RFPs that developers send out to general contractors can take many formats and contain a variety of submission requirements.  I like to keep my RFPs simple, short, straight forward, easy to understand, and easy to respond to. 

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Click here to download an example Request for Qualification & Proposal for Pre-Construction, Design-Assist and Construction Services from general contractors you have invited to bid on your project.  This example RFP is for a larger project, using a GMP contract, where you are bringing in a GC early in the design process to help consult and advise the design team and owner on pricing, material and equipment selection, constructability, and schedule. 

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GC Staffing

One thing you want to pay close attention to is how the GCs will staff the project.  If it is a small project, it's OK to only have a full-time on-site superintendent with part-time off-site project manager and project engineer.  However, if it is a big project, the GC should staff the project with several full-time on-site people.  For example:

• Superintendent

• Project Manager

• One or more assistant superintendents as needed

• One or more project engineers as needed

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Also, review the resumes of the proposed staff to make sure they have the appropriate experience for the project.  If you are building a warehouse project, and none of the staff has experience with tilt-wall, that is bad.  Don't be scared to tell your GC that you are not satisfied with the experience level of his proposed staff.  Make sure you get a construction staff that you think can successfully execute the difficult and complex construction process.  Meet and interview the proposed staff in person before awarding a GC the project.  You can tell a ton from meeting someone in person as opposed to reading a little blurb about their experience in a proposal. 

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The staff turn over rate with general contractors is usually high, especially with superintendents.  Reserve the right to approve any staff substitutions in your construction contract. 

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Next Page: Construction Contract