As an Architect who does medium and fine scaled development projects within the core of the City of Toronto, I commonly have clients with old buildings or heritage structures on their sites. These buildings usually are tired, small and unattractive to potential tenants, both commercial and residential, while sitting on expensive real estate. Naturally, the idea surfaces to add to an existing building to get the most out of a downtown site; it is an imperative that these buildings generate positive income, and merely adding to what is already there seems pretty straight forward. Everyone else is doing it, right?
Well hold on there-
While some structures are robust enough that they can have additional floors put on them, many are not, even when they appear well constructed (brick or block walls, for example). Because of more recent changes in the building code, footings may need to be increased not just to handle additional weight, but to also address seismic requirements. Simultaneously, floor platforms can require considerable reconstruction to meet loading needs due to new use. These two items alone can lead to a complete hollowing out of the current building and generate increased construction cost. Another consideration is egress: getting people out of a building safely is the primary concern of the building code, and is enforced at every level of approval. While only one additional floor may not require another stair case, multiple floors will, reducing ground floor leasable area and even interrupting critical façade exposure to the street. Building one floor only can be expensive real estate: a large cost component is the ‘set-up’ on site and the below grade work – the higher the building, the more this cost is diffused.
So why do it?
Time and time again, I have seen clients make incredible gains on the value of their properties by having the vision that the building site can deliver more; it is the building owners that can weather the long approval times that come out ahead. Typically with a restaurant or commercial tenant fit out, design and approval might only take up 30% of the complete project time; a total project schedule might only be 10 months or less. However, with a more extensive reconstruction / addition to an existing building, especially in a downtown location, over 50% of the project schedule can revolve around assessment of the building, design of new areas & renovated components, and City endorsement of the whole task. Cost estimating and value engineering through this process can further extend design schedules – it isn’t unreasonable to expect that as much as 10 months or more can slip by before the shovel hits the ground.
Long story short: plan early. Even if the project looks like a slam dunk (and might very well be from a technical standpoint), getting other people to see it your way takes time, expertise, and patience.
Give us a call, and tell us about your vision; we’ll help you build that building taller.
