Understanding project
costs and building costs
Rick McCarthy
Introduction
Governmental bodies and educational
institutions often work with long-term planning
horizons in mind. Oftentimes the budgeting
process for a library-building project begins
before a design has been established, or even
before an architect has been hired. How can
library administration establish an early
estimate for a project's cost?Plenty of anecdotal
information regarding library construction costs
is available. Unfortunately, much of this type of
information is often out of date or inaccurate.
One example
The State Library of Iowa has a well-designed
Web site with a range of information for library
professionals. One section of the Web site titled
``Library building projects ± past and present''
contains a spreadsheet file that compiles data
for public libraries built in Iowa from 1981 to
2003 (State Library of Iowa, 2003). Data for
new libraries built between 1999 and 2002
indicated that the cost varied from $18 to $217
per square foot. While $217 would not be an
unbelievably high figure, $18 per square foot is
impossibly low. The wild swing in the cost
figures is not due to laxity on the part of the
Iowa State Library; it is no doubt caused by the
data that their member libraries have
submitted. This case highlights the different
ideas of the ``cost'' of a building project, and
that data are oftentimes not compiled (or
submitted) in a uniform manner.
What's included?
Consulting with other librarians or
administrators who have recently completed a
project provides a great opportunity for learning
the cost of a new library. However, the answers
will vary as different people use different
methods to measure the cost of their projects.
For example, one estimate may include new
furniture for the library while another does not.
One number may include site acquisition costs,
while another omits them. These vagaries may
make it difficult to estimate the cost of a project,
but consultations with other recent builders will
The author
Rick McCarthy is the Principal and Team Leader of the
Library Studio at Burnell Cassell Associates, an architectural
firm in Elgin, Illinois, USA.
Keywords
Construction operations, Project finance,
Project management, Libraries, Costs
Abstract
An early estimate of the potential costs of building a new
library is an essential part of the construction planning
process. Historical data detailing construction costs for
buildings are widely available, but effective use of these
data requires an understanding of the difference between
``project cost'' and ``building costs''. Knowledge of the
techniques employed to turn generic cost information into
data for a specific project is equally important. This article
offers some basic information in square foot estimating and
will help planners increase the accuracy of pre-design
estimates of project costs.
Electronic access
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is
available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0888-045X.htm
6
The Bottom Line: Managing Library Finances
Volume 17
.
Number 1
.
2004
.
pp. 6-9
# Emerald Group Publishing Limited
.
ISSN 0888-045X
DOI 10.1108/08880450410519638