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158 In Pursuit of the Sunbeam: A Practical Guide to Transformation from Institution to Household
“The pre-feasibility architect can establish the square footages and construction costs within a reasonable range once concepts
are articulated. This information is valuable to your financial consultant(s) who can help you create
a forecast model.”
“Engaging a marketing firm to complete a demographic/ competitive analysis will give you a sense of the potential to add services and increase revenues.”
necessary to produce a valid forecast. If you have difficulty locating such a firm, contact providers who you know have implemented the Household Model. They can likely direct you to qualified candidates.
Architectural Pre-feasibility
At the pre-feasibility stage, you are not committing to a design but merely articulating your conceptual and programmatic goals. Nor are you necessarily committed to continuing with the architect or financial consultants past the pre-feasibility inquiry. But if you do continue with them, they may comprise an engaged and knowledgeable team at the outset of the design and development process. You have to determine if the team that is good at forecasting is also good at design and project management. However, the architect should be fitting the plan to your vision, not the other way around.
The pre-feasibility architect can establish the square footages and construction costs within a reasonable range once concepts are articulated. This information is valuable to your financial consultant(s) who can help you create a forecast model that captures construction and related project costs, operating revenues and expenses, and other variables needed as indicators of project feasibility.
It is also important to factor in “phasing” if it applies to your situation. Retrofit projects are usually phased because it is necessary to move people to new housing in stages as the project moves forward. You are usually able to complete one house or one section of a house at a time, move residents in, and then begin retrofitting another. Phasing time and cost implications should not be overlooked during the pre-feasibility stage.
Market Pre-feasibility Analysis
Engaging a marketing firm to complete a demographic/competitive analysis will give you a sense of the potential to add services and increase revenues. It will reveal the need to investigate merger and acquisition possibilities if you lack a strong demographic base (or for other reasons) and the characteristics of your market place, including what the market will bear and the impact of competitors.
The analysis will also show the impact and probability of penetrating into secondary and tertiary markets. Depending on the form of financing, a formal market study may later be required by your funding source (lender, investor or underwriter). While that may or may not be the case in your situation, we strongly recommend you consider a thorough market study at the pre-feasibility phase whether it is required or not. A comprehensive,