Estimate gut rehab cost in Boston area

[Matt Donker]

I an considering buying a 3 floor 3600 sqft property in the Boston area. It will need a gut rehab. I aim to convert it to condos (property has 3 units). While doing my bottom up cost estimate, I would like to do a sense check of my estimates. I am looking to the forum to get feedback on any ballpark estimate for a gut rehab of this size. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

[Max Taylor]

@Matt Donker The type of condo you're building will guide the numbers a bit, (high end finishes in South Boston vs. lower end stuff in Roxbury). Having said triple decker gut rehabs typically cost on the lowest end $125/ft and on the higher end $175/ft. So for your 3600SF you're looking at around $450k to $630k. We've completed 12 builds in the past 3 years and that is what we've consistently spent. These numbers are also consistent with what our other developer friends are spending in the city. 

We have an in house general contractor so if you're going to hire a GC to do the job you're going to spend more than that, probably closer to $200/sf, again depending a bit on location. As you know Boston is a hotbed for construction and all of the good guys are busy. When taking bids, the lowest one isn't always the best option.