Seeking Restaurant and Retail Projects

[Ravenvalor]

Hello,

I am interested in doing small new restaurant and retail projects such as fast food restaurants and Dollar Generals. Can someone recommend a good source for finding these projects in the central North Carolina area? Construction Data has been harassing me to use their listing service but their price tag is steep and I am not sure how many private projects they list.

Thank you,

 

[mgookin]

I see from your profile that you are an EC.

The EC on any of those jobs will work subordinate to the GC (just as the EE will work under the architect or lead engineer).

I think you're going to have to seek out the GC's who do those jobs in that region.

A heads up - those teams do what they do and they do it well. It's common for a GC to already know 2 years in advance where he is going to be building what stores, who his subs will be, how much he can charge, what his subs will charge, when he's getting paid, when subs & suppliers are getting paid, etc. It's a niche market when it comes to those national chains & franchises. But you have to get in somewhere (some time?). There's no time like the present to get started on any long range project.

 

[Ravenvalor]

Believe it or not I usually try to avoid most GCs. I will be on the lookout for some good ones now.

Thank you,

 

[SoCalGramps]

Be careful with these guys. Projects are fast paced. Owners / Generals are very tight and most take their time paying you. Have your contracts checked out before you sign anything or they will add items you did not discuss (overtime to meet their schedule included in your scope, etc) Make sure all change orders are in writing and signed before you do anything extra, schedule be damned...

 

[Ravenvalor]

Be careful with these guys. Projects are fast paced. Owners / Generals are very tight and most take their time paying you. Have your contracts checked out before you sign anything or they will add items you did not discuss (overtime to meet their schedule included in your scope, etc) Make sure all change orders are in writing and signed before you do anything extra, schedule be damned...

You are rewriting my experiences with these types. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[nicknorth]

I have seen a lot of these stores now lets a lot more GC bid on their project and then the GC are letting everyone bid on them and basically everyone is going with the lowest bidder. There are some really large GC that do a ton of these stores, but they are terrible about paying! One thing that I have learn is never send in your lien release until you get paid because the GC has to have these lien releases in order to get paid from the owner. I think 99% of the normal routine is to send in your lien release and trust that the check is coming right behind it which in most cases is true, but just be careful. Also the larger these companies seem the more likely they are to push you around.

But also if you get in and bang these jobs out, keep up with your billing, change orders, do not do anything for free you can do very well.

Look for GC's in WI, & FL. If you want PM me and maybe I can help point you in the right direction.

 

[Ravenvalor]

I have seen a lot of these stores now lets a lot more GC bid on their project and then the GC are letting everyone bid on them and basically everyone is going with the lowest bidder. There are some really large GC that do a ton of these stores, but they are terrible about paying! One thing that I have learn is never send in your lien release until you get paid because the GC has to have these lien releases in order to get paid from the owner. I think 99% of the normal routine is to send in your lien release and trust that the check is coming right behind it which in most cases is true, but just be careful. Also the larger these companies seem the more likely they are to push you around.

But also if you get in and bang these jobs out, keep up with your billing, change orders, do not do anything for free you can do very well.

Look for GC's in WI, & FL. If you want PM me and maybe I can help point you in the right direction.

Thanks for the advice. I am going to find someone that I trust first and foremost. I will just have faith there is someone that fits the description.

 

[charlie b]

There was a post that amounted to an advertisement of bid-support services. There were several posts that responded to, or commented upon, that advertisement. All of those posts have been removed.