Give & Take

We have done several projects with a specific client over the years. When they decided to move out of the building they were leasing several years ago and buy a building of their own, they hired us to do the interior renovation of the new building. At the time, the building that they purchased was a bit smaller than they wanted, but they knew they could make it work for a period of time. About 6 months after purchasing the building, they called us and said that they had truly outgrown the space and wanted to build an addition that would meet all of their needs with room for growth. We did a preliminary schematic design of an addition consisting of open office space, ample conference rooms and private offices, all connected to their existing building.

Shortly after we completed the preliminary drawings for the building addition, an existing building down the street came up for sale that wasn’t exactly a perfect fit. They knew they would need to make some minor modifications to the interior flow, but felt that it was move in ready and could work for them. Purchasing the building down the street would cost about 60% of what they would have in new construction. The lower price as well as immediate availability were the main factors that prompted them to even consider purchasing another building that didn’t fully meet their needs.

We talk a lot here at PDMi about compromise, or give & take, when it comes to our projects. This is a prime example of compromising on a building that is not your dream solution, but in the end it may be a “good enough” fit for the time being. The money saved on purchasing a smaller existing building rather than the nice big new construction may be better used to grow their current business and be further ahead at the end of the day.    

Give & take is not always a bad situation to be in, you just have to be aware of what you are giving and what you are taking. PDMi can help you work through the pros and cons of your next expansion or building purchase. Give us a call, we’d love to help.