Just as we thought we would begin construction, we’ve experienced setbacks. We had selected a general contractor that would have undoubtedly been great at doing the work, but did not possess the financial resources or back office experience for a LEED project. We continue to search for the right set of skills. It reminds me of the 3+ months it took to find the design team, and it appears that finding the right general contractor will take longer.

The other problems we have rest in a building that has lots of needs for structural work, and mixed use building code requires steel for many elements rather than wood. Cha-Ching! A friend and fellow developer said to me the other day “you can solve just about any problem in real estate development with enough time.” I just hope my sanity can hold out.

So we are in a no-man’s land of a design too expensive to build, without the right builder to help us rework the project. We can’t go forward, can’t go back. Sitting and waiting are my poorest skill sets, so I guess I’m getting some practice as we search for the right GC.