Design and Bids (Case Studies)

Meridian Point Apartments | 220-Unit Multi-Family Development, Columbus, OH

The Situation

A regional developer building a 220-unit multi-family complex across two phases in Columbus, Ohio, had already lived through the cost of fragmentation. Phase 1 relied on three separate vendors for design and estimating, and the result was a $340,000 gap between projected and actual construction costs. With Phase 2 financing tied to a fixed budget ceiling, there was no room to repeat that mistake.

Our Approach

Design and Bids built a single coordinated Revit model spanning architectural, structural, and MEP systems. Our estimators then ran quantity takeoffs against localized Franklin County labor and material rates across 14 CSI divisions, cross-validating every line item before submission. Everything was delivered in 11 business days.

The Impact

Clash detection flagged 47 coordination conflicts before permitting. The final estimate landed within 3.2% of actual build cost, saving the developer an estimated $280,000 in downstream change orders.

Design and Bids didn’t just deliver numbers. We rebuilt this developer’s entire pre-con process, replacing three disconnected vendors with one accountable, data-verified workflow that protected their margin on a multi-million-dollar build.

Southline Office Conversion | 42,000 SF Commercial Tenant Improvement, Charlotte, NC

The Situation

A general contractor had just 96 hours to submit a competitive bid on a 42,000 sq. ft. shell-to-suite office conversion in Charlotte, North Carolina. Their in-house estimator was already stretched across four active projects and simply couldn’t produce a defensible, line-itemized number before the deadline hit.

Our Approach

Design and Bids pulled the architectural and MEP drawings directly into a coordinated takeoff workflow, cross-referencing real-time Mecklenburg County material pricing and current union labor rates. Along the way, our team flagged two structural ambiguities back to the architect before pricing locked in, protecting the estimate’s accuracy under pressure.

The Impact

A complete, line-itemized bid package was delivered in 38 hours. The general contractor won the contract at a 6.4% margin, 2 points higher than their average bid margin that quarter, with zero post-award cost disputes, and the contract was signed within 9 days.

Design and Bids turned a near-missed deadline into a won contract, proving that speed and accuracy are not a trade-off when the right estimating team is behind the numbers.

Keystone Distribution Center | 180,000 SF Industrial Retrofit, Harrisburg, PA

The Situation

On a 180,000 sq. ft. industrial distribution facility retrofit in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a mechanical subcontractor discovered that design drawings showed HVAC ductwork and structural steel occupying the same physical space across three separate zones. This is a conflict that wouldn’t have surfaced until fabrication, threatening an estimated 4-week field delay.

Our Approach

Design and Bids built a coordinated MEP model in Navisworks, running full clash detection against the structural and architectural sets before shop drawings were ever issued. Conduit and ductwork paths were rerouted and resolved entirely in the digital model, six business days after intake.

The Impact

31 clashes were identified and resolved pre-fabrication, eliminating an estimated $195,000 in projected rework and preserving the original 4-week schedule buffer in full.

Design and Bids caught what three prior site walkthroughs missed, converting a costly field-discovered conflict into a desk-resolved fix. It is the kind of precision that keeps industrial schedules and budgets intact from day one.