Early contractor award based on GC's and Fee?

[Rich P.]

Have any of you awarded a contractor based on GCs and Fee in order to award the contract earlier in lieu of waiting for full CD's to be procured? i.e. If you manage to get a grading and/or foundation permit earlier than full CD's, you can get out on site for this activity. If you have done this before, how did you then ensure you were then getting the best pricing possible once the remaining scope goes out to bid from the GC to the subs with the full CD's? I would assume you make sure its a GMP scenario to see all the backup. Did this work out well?