Test Your Development Project Knowledge
Five questions covering key stages of a construction and renovation project — from team assembly through completion of a facility.
A strong project team is multidisciplinary from day one. A program manager, design professionals, general contractor, legal counsel, and key internal school stakeholders should all be identified early to align goals, manage risk, and keep the project on track.
Thorough due diligence protects your investment. Before committing, verify zoning restrictions, environmental conditions, title and encumbrances, utilities infrastructure, and local code compliance — issues discovered late can be costly or can even cause the project to end and require you to pivot to another facility.
Liquidated damages clauses are a valuable risk management tool. They establish a clear, enforceable daily penalty for schedule overruns and give contractors a strong financial incentive to meet deadlines — benefiting both parties by removing ambiguity around delay consequences. However, LDs are not always beneficial to the owner if the project owner is the reason for delays.
An RFI is a typical request for information from engineers involved in a project. Industry standard for RFI response is generally 7–10 business days. The contract should explicitly state response timelines, and the project team should track open RFIs carefully — unanswered RFIs are a leading cause of construction delays and disputes.
Owner-requested change orders can have far-reaching effects beyond the direct cost of the change. They may delay milestone dates, disrupt trade sequencing, impact material procurement lead times, and trigger additional overhead costs — making careful evaluation essential before approving any scope change.