new construction costs for apartment buildings in LA county

[Account Closed]

Hello All,

i'm interested in the construction business and am shopping around to get $/sqft costs 

for new wood frame modern apartment buildings in mid class neighborhoods in LA county.

I only have experience in rehabilitation 

As example i take a 8000 sqft, 10 units, 2bd / 1bath, 2 story apartment building, wood frame, modern design, built on a 7000sqft flat lot with available utilities, in a mid class area in Los Angeles. Project would also include 8 covered parking spots, driveway, gate, and landscaping on 3000sqft. 

What would be the all included (engineering, permits, materials, labor,...)sqft construction cost on a $/sqft basis for the such a project excluding land? what about the time frame?

I was thinking about somewhere around $100/sqft for the building and 1 year to complete the project, but i might be wrong

thanks for any input!

[Allan Glass]

@Account Closed you're off by at least half.

I'm not clear what you consider to be mid class neighborhoods, but for apartments, by this I mean 5+ units, we underwrite hard costs at $135 psf.  When you add in permits/fees and soft costs (engineering, arch. etc) we underwrite another $75-$90 psf.

This is assuming flat land and parking on ground level.  If you have to go subterranean for your parking you can assume about $25k per spot.

The examples on the MLS you pointed to are 2-4 units which can be done less expensively and are in neighborhoods where more cost effective materials and finishes could be used and still sell. I'd expect all in costs (again SFR and 2-4 not larger apartments) at $135-$150 psf.

Several of my clients who build/sell 50-100 2-4 unit properties a year in the neighborhoods you've given as examples could build at $80-$100 psf only because they use the same architectural drawings have crews on salary and don't bid out via General Contractors and buy materials in bulk and at wholesale trade prices.

The markets we consider Mid Class would be Culver City, Palms, Mar Vista, Silverlake, Echo Park, etc. In those areas we expect all in costs for SFR and 2-4 units at $250 psf.

Best of luck

A