EBG Studios · Development Atlas · DRAFT — For review & feedback
Chapter II · Plan & Commit
Can we secure the approvals and capital?
Stage 5 · Questions, problems & people
Each lead brings the answer together with the people named below. Maya represents the developer and enterprise owner; specialists and public reviewers retain their own responsibilities.
Confirm the Norfolk land-use path and coordinate building, fire, civil and applicable state environmental reviews. Each reviewer has a distinct decision.
With: Morgan (project architect); Eli (site & civil engineer); Noor (power & cooling engineer).
Nina, Ben, Carmen, Devon, Riley and Jordan represent the agency reviewers in the approvals guide.
Reconcile approval conditions, utility milestones, risks and capital authorization before releasing the next package of work.
With: Noor (power & cooling engineer); Sam (construction manager).
The enterprise sponsor approves capital; Pat coordinates the electric service commitment.
Maintain a submission and conditions register. Morgan coordinates building responses; Eli leads civil and drainage responses; Noor supplies equipment and system information.
With: Morgan (project architect); Eli (site & civil engineer); Noor (power & cooling engineer).
Agencies decide their own approvals; the project team closes its assigned comments.
Track land use, construction permissions, environmental conditions and utility service separately, and release work only when its applicable conditions are met.
With: Sam (construction manager); Eli (site & civil engineer).
Norfolk and applicable state reviewers confirm their own requirements.
What this milestone needs to produce
A recorded approval path and investment decision, with conditions, unresolved items and release gates assigned.
Why this stage matters
Approval and funding decisions converge around a credible project, but they rarely finish on the same day. Entitlements establish whether a use or plan is permissible; permits authorize specific work subject to local requirements. Financing commitments have their own conditions, expiration dates and documentation. A project is ready to commit when the team can show that these conditions can be satisfied together.
The decision map
People & information
Reviews proposals against applicable local processes.
Shares evidence with the development lead and the other stage disciplines.Tests repayment capacity, collateral and conditions.
Shares evidence with the development lead and the other stage disciplines.Aligns design, approvals, equity and timing.
Shares evidence with the development lead and the other stage disciplines.Parallel work, shared decisions
Illustrative relative activity, not a duration schedule. A stage can loop back as evidence changes. Select another discipline to see where it contributes.
| Workstream | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market & Tenancy | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Land & Approvals | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Design & Engineering | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Finance & Investment | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Construction & Procurement | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Delivery & Operations | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Stakeholder | 1 · Opportunity & vision | 2 · Market & site | 3 · Diligence & control | 4 · Planning & feasibility | 5 · Approvals & commitment | 6 · Design & procurement | 7 · Construction & delivery | 8 · Commissioning & handover | 9 · Tenancy & stabilization |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Developer | Set the thesis | Choose the search criteria | Own the acquisition decision | Integrate design and economics | Align approval and capital | Approve scope and contracts | Authorize verified changes | Accept documented handover | Review performance and strategy |
| Investor & lender | Set risk and capital limits | Challenge demand assumptions | Review acquisition risks | Test equity need and returns | Define conditions precedent | Review the committed budget | Review eligible draw evidence | Confirm completion conditions | Monitor coverage and evaluate exit |
| Design & engineering | Explore user requirements | Screen site constraints | Investigate physical conditions | Develop and compare concepts | Address authority conditions | Coordinate detailed packages | Resolve technical field questions | Verify systems and as-built records | Review feedback from operation |
| Contractor & suppliers | Offer early feasibility insight | Advise on site access | Identify construction uncertainty | Estimate scope and sequencing | Test schedule feasibility | Price packages and lead times | Execute work and record quality | Complete tests and defects | Respond to warranty obligations |
| Users & community | Explain unmet needs | Test location and access | Identify local impacts | Review functional usefulness | Participate in applicable review | Confirm use requirements | Coordinate tenant interfaces | Receive usable and safe space | Report performance and changing needs |
| Operator & asset manager | Define operating objectives | Assess serviceability | Identify inherited liabilities | Estimate operating burden | Plan the operating transition | Review maintainability | Prepare asset and service records | Receive manuals and training | Manage leasing, costs and capital plans |
Roles may overlap within one organization. The project’s contracts and local requirements determine actual authority and responsibility.
| Risk | Likelihood | Impact | Priority score | Response |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approval delay | 4 | 4 | 16 | Verify evidence; assign an owner, mitigation and decision deadline. |
| Funding expiration | 3 | 5 | 15 | Verify evidence; assign an owner, mitigation and decision deadline. |
| Unbudgeted conditions | 3 | 4 | 12 | Verify evidence; assign an owner, mitigation and decision deadline. |
Choose a concept. Choose your depth.
Can we secure the approvals and capital?
Overview · Understand · ApplyWhen is capital needed, and what does time cost?
Overview · Understand · ApplyHow much debt can the property responsibly support?
Optional practice
Try the enterprise data-center decision, then compare it with the logistics exercise below.
Juniper Ridge · make the call
Authority decisions, conditions register, coordinated drawings and documented community responses.
Apply the same development principles to Riverton Logistics Center. This supporting case uses its own warehouse assumptions and preserves your recorded logistics decisions.
Decision studio · Stage 05
You are the project’s development lead. Price an approval delay and mitigation, then test funding headroom. Use the fictional evidence below, make a choice and explain what you would verify.
Add a stormwater study and confirm discharge consent before work starts.
Illustrative minimum DSCR: 1.20×. Approval is conditional on budget and schedule review.
Your plan adds 6 months and $266,175 to the detailed no-delay budget. DSCR is 1.36× versus an illustrative 1.20× requirement. Mitigation costs $150K and recovers two months, but it does not guarantee an approval. A conditional revision keeps approval and funding conditions visible.
