How to Appoint a PMC or Architect for Housing Society Redevelopment?

What happens at this stage?

Understand what the Society needs

Before evaluating professionals, the Society should understand the nature of the assignment.

Depending on the project and the agreed scope, the Architect / PMC may be involved in areas such as:

• survey of the existing building and land;

• understanding the available property and development documentation;

• assessment of redevelopment potential;

• feasibility and project planning;

• preparation of a project report;

• planning and technical inputs;

• development specifications;

• preparation of tender documentation;

• technical evaluation of developer proposals;

• assistance during approval processes;

• and construction-stage professional services, where included in the appointment.

The exact scope should never be assumed. It should be discussed, defined and documented.

What should the Society look for?

The right professional cannot be identified from the fee quotation alone. The Society should look at several dimensions.

Professional capability

Consider:

• Qualifications and professional registration;

• Redevelopment experience;

• Experience with co-operative housing societies;

• Experience with comparable buildings and land situations;

• Team strength;

• Completed projects;

• Familiarity with applicable planning and development regulations;

• Experience dealing with relevant authorities.

• Independence: Potential conflicts of interest

Redevelopment experience

A professional may have considerable experience in construction or architecture and still have limited experience in co-operative housing society redevelopment.

Redevelopment brings additional considerations:

• Existing members and their expectations;

• Rehabilitation;

• Existing property documentation;

• Development potential;

• Society governance;

• Member communication;

• Temporary accommodation;

• Redevelopment agreements;

Who will actually handle the project?

This is one of the simplest and most important questions to ask. The person who presents the proposal may not necessarily be the person who subsequently handles the Society's project.

The Society should understand:

• Who will be the principal contact?

• Who will actually undertake the work?

• Who will attend Committee and General Body meetings?

• Who will visit the site?

• Who will prepare and review the technical work?

• What level of senior professional involvement can the Society expect?

• How will communication and reporting be handled?

Technical capability

The Society should understand whether the proposed professional has the capability to undertake the technical work expected from the appointment.

This may include:

Survey & assessment

Understanding the existing building, land and available documentation.

Feasibility

Assessing what may realistically be possible on the property.

Planning & development potential

Examining applicable planning parameters and development potential.

Project reporting

Converting technical assessment into a structured project report.

Tender preparation

Developing appropriate technical requirements and tender documentation.

Technical evaluation

Helping the Society understand and compare the technical aspects of developer proposals.

Construction-stage involvement

Where included in the appointment, providing professional services during execution.

The scope of work is the real appointment

A professional fee quotation by itself does not tell the Society what it is actually receiving.

The appointment should clearly establish:

Scope
What will the professional do?

Deliverables
What will the Society receive?

Timeline
When should important deliverables be completed?

Responsibility
Who is responsible for each activity?

Fees
What is included in the professional fee?

Additional services
What may attract additional charges?

Reporting
How will the Society be kept informed?

Accountability
How will completion of agreed work be tracked?

A useful principle is: A weak scope creates ambiguity. A clear scope creates accountability.

Questions the Society should ask before appointment

A good presentation should be a two-way evaluation.

Experience & Capability

1. What redevelopment projects have you handled for co-operative housing societies?

2. How similar are those projects to our Society?

3. Who will actually handle our project?

Scope & Deliverables

4. What is included in your proposed scope?

5. What will be the major deliverables?

6. What work is specifically excluded?

7. What services may attract additional fees?

Project Assessment

9. What information and documents will you initially require from the Society?

10. What will the Society receive as the outcome of that assessment?

Tender & Developer Selection

11. What role will you play in preparing the redevelopment tender?

12. What technical role will you play when developer proposals are received?

Approvals & Construction

13. What approval-related responsibilities are included?

14. What construction-stage responsibilities are included?

Common mistakes Societies make

Choosing because someone recommended them

A recommendation can help identify a professional. It should not replace evaluation.

Choosing the lowest quotation

A lower fee may reflect a narrower scope.

Accepting a vague scope

Terms such as “complete redevelopment consultancy” do not by themselves establish accountability.

Assuming Architect and PMC are automatically the same

The Society should understand the professional role being offered and the services included.

Not asking who will actually handle the project

Senior professionals may present the proposal while junior personnel subsequently handle day-to-day work.

Ignoring additional charges

Potential additional professional fees should be identified before appointment.

Not defining reporting

The Committee should know how information, recommendations and progress will be communicated.

Treating the professional as the Society's decision-maker

The Architect / PMC provides professional inputs.

Things often missed at this stage

Scope Gap

Unclear responsibilities can become disputes later.

Fee Gap

Unidentified additional services can create unexpected costs.

Experience Gap

General construction experience may not mean relevant Society redevelopment experience.

Reporting Gap

Without defined reporting, the Committee may not know what has actually been completed.

Coordination Gap

Different professionals may work independently without sufficient coordination.

Documentation Gap

Important decisions and commitments can become difficult to establish later.

Continuity Gap

The professional who presents the proposal may not be the professional who manages the project.

These are not necessarily problems at the time of appointment. They become problems when they are not identified early.

What should the Society have by the end of Stage 02?

By the end of this stage, the Society should have moved beyond simply identifying a professional.

Formally

The Society should have:

• followed the applicable appointment process;

• evaluated suitable professionals;

• selected the appropriate professional;

• documented the appointment;

• defined the agreed scope;

• established professional fees and payment terms;

• identified responsibilities and deliverables;

• established communication/reporting arrangements.

Practically

The Committee should be able to answer:

Who have we appointed?

Why have we appointed them?

What exactly are they responsible for?

What should they deliver?

What happens next?

If these questions cannot be answered clearly, the appointment may not yet be sufficiently structured.

You are not merely appointing a professional. You are establishing the professional foundation for the redevelopment project.

The objective is not to find the cheapest Architect or PMC.

It is to appoint a professional whose:

Experience + Capability + Scope + Deliverables + Accountability

are appropriate to the Society's redevelopment requirements.

Once the professional team is appointed, the Society can move to the next fundamental question:

What can realistically be developed on our property, and what should our redevelopment project look like?

This is where professional assessment of the building, land, documentation, development potential and project possibilities becomes important.

The professional appointment is the beginning of the next phase; not the end of the Society's involvement. The appointed Architect / PMC will then undertake the initial professional assessment of the project.