Cost per Square Foot for Construction for 8 to 24 Story Apartment Buildings
EVstudio has a large body of collective experience with Multifamily and Apartment projects and we keep a very close eye on industry trends for construction cost as they are directly relevant to the our projects and clients who need to be ever vigilant with their cost control and project budgeting. This post focuses on a specific project type: Apartment buildings between 8 and 24 stories. The number of stories impacts a project considerably as there is an economy of scale involved with spreading out infrastructure cost and the cost of required internal systems (like elevators and structured parking) across the gross square footage of the building.
The source for this data is RSMeans, the industry leader in construction cost estimating.
Construction Cost per Square Foot for 8 to 24 Story Apartment building
As we have seen for nearly all project types in previous research, New York tops the chart as the highest cost per square foot for this project type while cities in the south are among the lowest cost per square foot. The median cost per square foot falls around $220 per square foot.
Apartment buildings are well known to have a huge spectrum of amenities and services from high end spas, theaters, shops and restaurants within a larger mixed use program, while affordable housing apartments would generally keep to a simpler program. Regardless of the kind of apartment or multifamily project you are considering, EVstudio can help to inform your initial design concepts while keeping in mind your project budget. Then ultimately providing you with award winning architectural and engineering design for the realization of your project.
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i have basement 1200 sqft i like calculation price
Roney,
Can you tell me some important information like the type of building, location and what exactly you intend to do in your 1,200 sq.ft. basement? I'm happy to help, but there's not much that I can go from here. Are you looking for the cost for design work or construction? Thanks.
-Dean
Do these figures include soft costs such as engineering and design? What about land acquisition? Or is this purely what you pay the contesvtor(s)?
Thanks.
Josh,
The cost per square foot figures are only for the construction of the building and do not include soft costs, land costs, financing costs, entitlements, etc.. All of these costs need to be considered in a project's pro-forma and the building construction cost as a function of square footage is only one piece of that equation.
Dear Dean Dalvit,
Thanks for sharing this valuable information. I read your other post on multi story office buildings and I understand the concept of economies of scale where the higher the building goes the cheaper per square foot it becomes. However I noticed that for apartment buildings the reverse is true, where construction costs psf go up the more floors you add. I am basing this observation off the RSMeans Square Foot Estimator online for apartments 8-24, 4-7, 1-3 in Birmingham, AL. Why is that? Am I missing something or is the information wrong?
Renato,
It is correct that there is an economy of scale associated with any building type. However, the jump in construction cost that naturally occurs in multifamily buildings as you grow in height is due to the fact that the lower rise buildings are typically lower density, garden style apartments with no common area, while the higher you go would imply higher density buildings with interior corridors, elevators and perhaps even podium structure with structured parking. The higher density multifamily buildings are definitely more cost per square foot than the garden style buildings. Plus, the higher density multifamily buildings are going to be built in more densely populated areas, so that would also drive the cost of construction. Of course, you also get more units per square foot as well in most cases. Do you have a multifamily project that you are thinking about? The best way to understand initial costs is to look at the parameters of the actual project and quantify the various conditions. Also, on multifamily projects, we typically discuss cost per unit as opposed to cost per square foot because the unit mix and density can really skew the picture.
Dean,
Thanks for the explanation. It makes sense as low-rise apartments don't need elevators, common areas, and other mechanical/electrical components that high-rise ones do. I am an urban planner working on a pro-forma for a large-scale mixed-use redevelopment in a suburb. Since I am only testing the feasibility of the project, I don't think it will be necessary to get detailed past building footprints to come up with costs per unit.
Just for clarification, when you wrote higher construction costs for high-rises with a podium structure and structured parking, you were implying the costs include structural elements, labor, and materials needed to fit with podium and parking structures (transfer girders, thicker columns and beams, etc) and not that the construction costs (eg from RSmeans) include the cost for a structured parking, correct?
That is correct Renato, the structured parking itself would need to be accounted for separately.
If you need any assistance with your study, our multifamily team can help you with everything from initial site planning to conceptual unit plans and organization of buildings on the site in order to balance parking, site amenities and building density to maximize the number of units a site can sustain. Our team consists of architects, civil engineers, structural engineers, planners and even surveyors. We are regularly engaged to assess sites in order to validate pro formas and our initial work then rolls seamlessly into full design and construction documents should the project move forward. Let me know if you would like to discuss that further and we would be happy to help. Thanks!
Hello,
Would you have a rough guesstimate on the average cost of construction for a high rise condo building (greater than 20 floors) excluding land price in urban areas (Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Chicago, LA, NY). The condo building has standard facilities such as exercise room, indoor parking etc. The building has a concrete exterior.
Thanks.
I'm looking at the 2011 Means, and it lists a national median cost at $116/sf for highrise residential. Is your chart mistaken, or did you add other costs that aren't obvious
Hi Matt,
I'm not sure what would cause a discrepancy - this data is also from RS Means. It is for total construction costs of the building, not including site costs, financial costs, soft costs or furnishings. Bear in mind that 8-24 stories is not considered high-rise construction either and costs do go down as you continue to go up. At the same time, however, the level of finish is really going to inform the type of project and I could see quite a range there as well. And of course, location is also a big source of a range in costs as well. If you have a specific project you would like to discuss, let me know and we could go over it. Thanks!
Cahaba,
There are a number of factors that will inform the cost of the project that you are describing. Without any other information, a good place to start would be in the ballpark of $200 per square foot. However, note that the cities you mentioned all have a very different spectrum of costs. New York could be well over $200 per square foot while Atlanta could be less than $200. Luxury condos will command higher costs while affordable housing could be significantly less. If you have a specific project in mind, let me know and I would be happy to discuss it further with you. Thanks!
Dean,
We are considering a Hi rise Apt/condo in south Florida. 6 level parking structure, Rec Potium ,
with a 14-17 story 11,000 sf Plate, Tower on Top. Garage is 150x130, tower is 90 x 130.
Have you got a ballpark for me? just starting design now.
what would the value of 55,000sq ft land be with 300 ft of water front and the average cost of a 7 story high end new building 30ft set backs in miami fl>
Jeffrey,
You will need to find a local real estate agent, appraiser or someone who knows the market in your location. We do not have that kind of information. If you are in need of a world class architecture and engineering firm, let me know and we would love to help you design your project. Thanks!
Jeff,
I'd go with the data on the chart and start with between $190 and $200 per square foot for the condo floors and $60-$80 per square foot for the structured parking. It sounds as if your parameters are pretty well determined in order to arrive at a total area. If you are seeking a fully integrated architecture and engineering team well versed in multifamily design, we would love to help. Thanks and best of luck on your project!
Dean,
You have answered some of my questions ,however I lost the post.
I am not in construction this is the problem:
Developers are making offers on our building , to take down the existing 5 story building .and build on the property.In 2007 we had 3 offers of 16 million .Now our best offer is 12 million. Our board thinks that 16million is not viable . I am trying to demostrate that it is . My argument is if a developer in 07 could build a profitable building ,The peramiters have not changed. We have 35 unit owners and need 75% to aprove the sale.The demografics of the building has changed.
The zoning has change on our property creating smaller set backs.
we have 55,000 sq ft with 300 ft of unobstructed water front ,on Bay Harbor islands Fl. 33154 miami beach facing Bal Harbor.
There is a 75ft. hight limitation from the base flood plain 8 ft.and structures on the roof that are non habatable are not counted in thehight. Just for an example I used a foot print of 30,000 sq, ft.x7 floors 210,000 sq. ft.x $200.00 construction cost gave me a construction cost of 42 million with property purchas of 16 million a total cost of 58 million .
If sold at $300.00 Sq ft would be 63 million ,$400.00 sq, ft,= 84 million .etc. I did not include demolition ,piles and pile caps Parking I think they may dig down and dry out for parking .building on a30,000 sq.ft. foot print . I thought would allow for some ground floor parking. the units would have basic finish with better finishes avalable. I did not include soft costs .What is the selling price for new construction per Sq ft. on the water for high end units on Miami Beach? and do you know what margin of profit a developer looks to make on his investment? Do we include dept service tn the mix,I know I am asking a lot from you Thanks Jeff