VAPR
Value Assurance Project Review

Owner-side, design-literate cost reduction for real estate development

  • When budgets tighten or bids spike, most teams “value engineer” after the fact. We do the opposite: we read the drawings like designers and underwrite them like investors—so you cut cost without cutting quality.

Who We Serve

  • Multifamily, mixed-use, and industrial developers

  • Institutional investors and lenders

  • Owner’s reps and project executives seeking defensible savings

What We Do

  • VAPR (Value Assurance Project Review) is a first-principles review of your contract drawings, specs, and narratives. We trace scope from code pathways to building systems to sitework, flag legacy artifacts, inconsistencies, or new ideas, and return a prioritized, investor-safe savings plan.

What Clients Receive

  • Executive Summary: headline savings, quick wins, and risk notes

  • Tiered Findings (1–3): prioritized by ease, impact, and risk

  • Annotated Exhibits: page-linked markups and citations

  • Presentation of Findings: live walk-through with your team

  • The MIST Worksheet: a living tracker for acceptance and as-bid deltas

Where We Typically Find the Savings

  • Across recent reviews, the most frequent sources have been:

    • Building systems (~35–40%) — oversizing, sequencing, or spec mismatches

    • Design development choices (~30–32%) — legacy details that inflate cost

    • Code pathways (~25–30%) — overbuilt compliance or redundant routes

    • Site improvements (~5%) — non-value additive scope

(Percentages are shares of identified savings across findings; actual projects vary.)

Process & Timeline

  1. Intake (24–48 hrs): drawings/specs, addenda, constraints, target budget

  2. First-Principles Review: system-by-system and code-to-detail trace

  3. Findings Draft: tiered list with page references and cost logic

  4. Working Session: align with design/GC; confirm constructability

  5. Final Package: executive summary, exhibits, and MIST tracker

  6. Adoption Support: optional second pass post-bid or post-VE

When to Engage

  • Pre-GC / Pre-bid: de-risk before hard numbers lock in

  • DD → CD bridge: prevent cost creep while details crystallize

  • Lender diligence: defend assumptions with third-party rigor

Why This Works

  • Design literacy: we speak architect/engineer fluently

  • Investor mindset: we protect NOI, schedule, and code compliance

  • Actionable outputs: page-linked, defensible, and easy to adopt

Example Outcomes (illustrative)

  • Consolidated mechanical systems → fewer units, simpler routing, no loss of performance

  • Clarified egress/code routes → removed redundant structure and finishes

  • Re-detailed façade transitions → same visual intent, lower fabrication cost

  • Rationalized site scope → tightened hardscape limits and utility runs

Frequently asked questions

How is this different from GC value engineering?
VE often happens after bids and can trade quality for dollars. Our review reads drawings like a designer but with the insight of a developer, and targets investor-safe savings that maintain quality and user experience.

Will this slow the schedule?
No. Reviews run in parallel with design milestones; most findings are adoptable via sketch or addendum without re-designing the project.

What if our architect disagrees?
We annotate every finding with page references, code citations, and performance logic, then resolve live with the design team so the adopted solution remains architecturally sound.

Can you help after the review?
Yes. We support adoption through addenda, alternates, or post-bid negotiations and can re-run a focused pass once numbers land.

Ready to cut costs, not quality?

Contact us to scope a review and receive a same-day intake list.