Just published data from NAIOP confirms what we’ve been seeing and hearing: speculative industrial development has dropped, and more deals are becoming build-to-suit, which makes sense. Customers know exactly what they need, and they need it as quickly as possible. They’ve got board approvals, operational deadlines, and a very specific window of time to work in. Speed is imperative in build-to-suit development, but speed is possible only if preparation starts early.
If you’re starting entitlement after the customer shows up, you’re looking at a minimum of 10–18 months before construction permitting and physical work even starts. Environmental reviews, traffic studies, utility coordination, planning commission hearings—all of this is happening while clients are evaluating other markets where someone might already have an entitled site ready to go.
Hiring different consultants for each piece, one for land use, another for environmental, someone else for utilities, plus their civil engineer working separately can lead to disconnects quickly. Delays cascade into the next, and that 18-month timeline becomes 24 months or longer.
What I’ve learned in 20+ years is that entitlement is about anticipating what’s required at every stage before you’re in the middle of it. EPD was created to assist clients through the complex regulatory and interdisciplinary process required to bring projects to fruition in the most thoughtful manner. It takes a team of experts in each discipline who can navigate the entire process of what is required before you start.
At EPD, we provide an integrated approach to environmental analysis and regulatory compliance, land use planning, and entitlement services, and work seamlessly with external teams to make sure nothing falls through the cracks.
If build-to-suit is becoming a bigger piece of your business, then treating entitlement as a coordinated strategy, not a series of checkbox items, will help compress timelines and avoid the surprises that kill deals.
Let’s talk about your next project. Contact us – https://lnkd.in/ghdf9Q_6