For $100,000, do you think...

Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 6:45 pm

I could build a studio building from the ground up with a floor plan such as this?

I'm thinking outside dimensions of maybe 100x100ft? I'd prefer at least 1 rather large live room (Studio 1 in the picture), large enough to fit a full band comfortably, small ensembles, instrumental sections, etc.

Mind you this is planned to be used mainly for personal use, I don't plan on cramming the philharmonic in to play my orchestrations Wink

To sum it up, is $100k a reasonal budget for such a building? I can go higher if needed, I'm just not sure how much?

Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 7:15 pm

Just on the Building itself? or for everything you need..
What are going to build the shell out of? Block? Stick frame? Steel Building? These will help you figure out if your budget is low or high. Contact some local contractors with a good reputation to help you with your Quotes..
Good luck it looks cool

Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 7:17 pm

Just the building itself. No gear.

Just to build the building with the wiring run out for the electricity, lights shining where they should, and pipe leading somewhere from the john.

Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 7:29 pm

A 10,000 SQFT STUDIO !!??
According to this plan, your console is roughly 20 feet long and the control room is about 2000 Sqft !

A building this size would cost (in Miami where I live) about 850K plus roughly another 500K to do the interior buildout.
I base this on commercial real estate sales here of about $85.00 Sg Ft. and interior construction costs of about $50.00 Sqft. (I'm guessing at the amount of interior work to be done)
Once Building and zoning get through with you, costs can be much higher. For instance, I'm pretty sure that a control room that large will need more than one means of egress.
Then comes the equipment.

Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 7:30 pm

Ask MadMax...he would have a realistic opinion.

@ 10.00usd a sq.ft., I'm gonna say no.

Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 7:35 pm

A 1250 sq. ft. commercial space here in Cocoa runs about 150 grand - 4 walls and a toilet is all you get for that, unless you luck out with something built out by someone else - but then you have to either settle with what you've got, and make due, or tear down and rebuild...

To buy our 750 sq. ft. space would be around 80k, last I checked...

Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 8:25 pm

hmmmm... $10.00/ sq ft is absolutely unrealistic... by a factor of at least 10.

I'd figure $100/sq ft at a minimum... and that's doing AT LEAST 30% yourself.

A more believable situation would be $175-$200/sq ft in todays market for a ground up pro level studio... no matter what size... and the costs are skyrocketing almost daily!

6 months from now, it might be $200-$250/sq ft!

100x100 would be a bit too much for that layout IMHO. 40x50 or 40x60 is about as much as I'd try to scale it. Heck, I tried starting with that design almost 5 years ago... it doesn't scale to 30x40.

Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 8:25 pm

Now that you multiply out those dimensions that IS ridiculously large, what was I thinking with those numbers??

Reduce that in half, 50x50 coming in at 2500sqft total sounds much more realistic...

Judging from the comments so far I'm WAY low on my budget...

Thanks!

Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 8:53 pm

Ok, much better,
Still, if you're buying a commercial building, condo warehouse, etc, you'll need to find the going commercial rate in your area.
(again, here it's about $85.00/sq ft. for a condo warehouse- If it's a free standing building, it's probably closer to $100.00 sq ft. in today's market) So that's still about $250k for the building.
Then the buildout, of course is at least that much again. A lot more if you want the good stuff, A bit less if you cut some corners.
Again, you can't cut too many corners because you'll need permits, which requires that you hire professional contractors. Even with a owner/builder permit, you'll still need to pass inspections.
In 1985 it cost us 200K to buy a condo warehouse, and build the interior studio and offices in a 3000 Sqft building. That was 20 years ago.
Inflation is a bitch.

Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 9:13 pm

Dang-on.

Cheaper in Miami than Cocoa for condo warehouse units?

How'd that happen?

Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 9:34 pm

Having no idea where MrJesus resides, his cost could be lowered in some respects due to being out of reach from Dade County code requirements Wink

Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 9:58 pm

Hi Ben,
actually my figures were for an older building.
In the brand new buildings the price is closer to your 106 sq ft.
Also, In today's market, here there is so many buildings that were built in the past year or two, that are just empty now.
So there's a lot of competition now, and prices have dropped.
It just depends on the ol' supply and demand.
Oh- and also, sometimes you'll find that the smaller the unit, the higher the price per Sqft is. There's so many factors.
So the advice to the OP is you have to shop around. A mile or two can make a difference.
It's always cheaper near the airport!

Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 11:31 pm

Quote:

Also, In today's market, here there is so many buildings that were built in the past year or two, that are just empty now.

Ah, yes.

Sounds like all those condos they've recently built off 417 in Orlando!

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 4:25 am

yup...

Location, location, location...

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 5:00 am

MadMax wrote:

....A more believable situation would be $175-$200/sq ft in todays market for a ground up pro level studio... no matter what size... and the costs are skyrocketing almost daily!

6 months from now, it might be $200-$250/sq ft!...

Yeah, as you say elsewhere location is key. Some places are overbuilt and you may be able to find a shell relatively cheaply. Of course, relative is a key term. Some of the same places had a huge runup in prices and they have not shaken out yet. [AbeSimpsonVoice] You whippersnappers wouldn't know a real recession if it bit you on the @$$.[/AbeSimpsonVoice]

But the new construction is where a huge chunk of your cost is. Around here the good contractors are hard to find, they all have work (if not quite as much as they like) and they can still charge top dollar. Unfortunately, studio construction is not standard stuff. You need a contractor smart enough to understand the concepts, realize that he is in a new area, and follow directions carefully. This is unlikely to be someone cheap (unless it's you).

Good luck.

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