Converting a school into apartments.... Help!

[Chad King]

I am in the process of purchasing a school and converting it into apartments. I have meet with the building department multiple times to discuss my plans and they are on board with what I wish to do. The city has the same vision I have for the location and are excited to move forward. My question is, where is a good place to research to gather rough numbers on demo and renovation cost. It is a 25k+ sqft property with projected units around 25. Any help would be great,

Thanks

Chad

[Chris Seveney]

@Chad King

This is not something they can be done “off back of napkin”.

While the jurisdiction would love to add housing, you need to hire an architect and engineers to make sure it is designed to todays codes. For example depending on height you may need to add elevators in the building and that alone would require a large amount of structural modifications. You also should check to confirm their is enough water for a sprinkler system, as if you have to upgrade water lines in area that would be another cost.

The way this is typically handled is the property would go under agreement for a feasibility study to determine what can be done and cost prior to any acquisition as you could be given the property for free and it still not work financially