What Investors Actually Care About in Early-Stage Development Deals ASK: What are investors really evaluating when a deal is still in feasibility or entitlements? ANSWER: In the earliest stages of development, investors are not underwriting returns. They are underwriting the developer. When permits have not been issued and construction has not started, projections are still […]
How to Decide Between Buying Land, Ground Leasing, or Partnering ASK: I have a site opportunity. How do I decide whether to buy the land, ground lease it, or partner with the landowner? ANSWER: How you control land is one of the most consequential decisions in development. It determines who carries risk, who controls outcomes, […]
When Infrastructure Costs Should Kill a Deal and When They Shouldn’t ASK: Infrastructure costs are high. How do we know whether to walk away or move forward? ANSWER: Infrastructure costs are a normal part of development. The real question is not whether they exist, but whether they create value that can be supported in the […]
How to Coordinate Dry Utilities When Providers Won’t Talk to Each Other ASK: Why is coordinating power, gas, and telecom so difficult? ANSWER: Dry utilities operate independently. Each provider has its own contractors, schedules, and standards. Without coordination, routing conflicts arise. Trenches are reopened. Schedules slip. Costs increase. None are responsible for coordinating with each […]
What Developers Miss About Easements Until It’s Too Late ASK: We assumed access and utilities were fine. Why are easements suddenly an issue? ANSWER: Easements are rarely visible during site tours. They live in title reports, recorded documents, and survey notes that many teams review too late. Developers often conflate physical access with legal access. […]
How to Estimate Off-Site Improvement Costs Before You’re Forced To ASK: When should we start pricing off-site improvements, and how accurate do those early estimates need to be? ANSWER: Off-site improvements are one of the most underestimated risks in development. Not because they are always expensive, but because they are often discovered too late. Off-site […]
Why Utility Companies Control More of Your Timeline Than the City ASK: We are focused on entitlements and permits. Why do utilities keep becoming the bottleneck? ANSWER: In development, most teams obsess over city approvals. Planning hearings, conditions, plan check cycles, council calendars. Those steps are visible and structured, so they feel like the primary […]
How to Appeal a Planning Decision Without Burning Political Capital ASK: Our project was denied or heavily conditioned. Should we appeal? ANSWER: Appeals are one of the most misunderstood tools in development. They are neither inherently aggressive nor inherently protective. Their impact depends entirely on how they are used. I have worked on appeals that […]
Why Conditional Use Permits Are Often Harder Than Rezoning ASK: Why does a Conditional Use Permit feel more difficult than changing zoning? ANSWER: Conditional Use Permits (CUP) place a project under a microscope. They are site-specific, discretionary approvals that rely heavily on judgment. Rezoning asks whether a use belongs in an area. A Conditional Use […]
When a “Minor” Zoning Issue Becomes a Major Deal Risk ASK: The zoning issue seems small. Do we really need to worry about it? ANSWER: Zoning issues are rarely isolated. Even small deviations have consequences that ripple through a project. Setbacks, parking counts, height limits, use definitions, and access requirements are often described as minor […]