Industrial Design-Build in the Denver Metro

The Central 70 rebuild of I-70 through north Denver was procured as a design-build-finance-operate-maintain concession, which tells you something about how comfortable this market has become with integrated delivery. On a much smaller scale, an industrial owner gets the same benefit when one contract covers the design team, the builder and the guaranteed price. Questions about whether a column bay fits a rack layout or a slab can carry a reach truck get answered in one room, not through a chain of letters.

We run industrial design-build for plant managers and corporate real estate teams who need a building, not a drawing set. Typical programs include distribution and cross-dock buildings, light manufacturing, food and beverage processing and cold chain space on parcels in Adams County, the north metro and the DIA corridor.

The decision to use design-build is usually made on schedule. A shared team can release site packages, foundation packages and long-lead equipment orders while the architectural interiors are still being finished, and in a metro where electrical gear and dock equipment set the pace, that overlap is worth months.

What the Single Contract Covers

We assemble the architect, civil, structural, mechanical, electrical and fire protection engineers under our direction, with a geotechnical consultant engaged before any structural concept is fixed. Your team states the operating requirements: throughput, product temperature, pallet positions, truck counts, shift pattern, expansion intent. We turn those into a basis-of-design document that you approve before a drawing is issued for permit.

From there we deliver the permit package, procure the subcontracts and manage the site and concrete work. The same group handles the building envelope, interior build-out and commissioning, so there is one party to call when a tenant improvement or a process change needs to happen in month seven.

Where the Price Moves

Design-build pricing is only as good as the early scope definition. The biggest swings come from site conditions, electrical service size and refrigeration or process load, not from finish selections. We carry an allowance for each of those items in the first estimate, then replace the allowance with a firm number as the geotechnical report, utility will-serve letters and equipment submittals arrive.

Code edition also shifts cost. Denver adopted new building and fire codes on June 13, 2025, based on the 2024 International Building Code, and Colorado law pushes jurisdictions that update their codes toward stronger energy performance. We price to the edition your jurisdiction will actually enforce on the permit application date, and we flag any pending adoption that could change the energy envelope or electrical readiness requirements before your guaranteed maximum price is set.

Design Reviews That Protect the Operation

We hold working sessions with your operations and maintenance people at three points: concept, 50 percent drawings and 90 percent drawings. At each one we walk dock layouts, truck turning paths, forklift aisles, equipment access and sanitation routes against the plans, and we record decisions in writing so nothing is relitigated in the field.

Value engineering is done during design, not after bids. We would rather replace a costly structural bay layout in a sketch than carve it out of finished steel. Our preconstruction services team feeds pricing back during each design phase so that the guaranteed price tracks the drawings as they develop.

Compressing the Calendar Without Skipping Reviews

A phased release is how design-build earns its schedule benefit. Early grading and utility packages go to the city while the building is still being designed. Foundations and structural steel or tilt panels follow, and process equipment is bought against preliminary layouts. Because we own the sequence, we can tell you in week one which permit or delivery will end up controlling the date.

Plan review timing varies by city. Thornton is enforcing the 2024 IBC, while Commerce City works from the 2021 IBC with local amendments. Our permitting and entitlements coordination is built into the design-build contract so reviewers get complete submittals the first time.

Where Design-Build Pairs With Other Work

Design-build is a delivery method, and most of our projects combine it with a trade or building type. A cross-dock terminal pulls in truck terminal and cross-dock design and heavy paving, and a temperature-controlled project draws on cold storage construction.

An expansion at an operating site calls on phased construction on occupied sites, and we also take design-build assignments for advanced manufacturing owners, where process layout comes first and the building envelope is wrapped around it.

Energy and Electrical Rules We Design To

Colorado HB22-1362 requires any county or municipality that updates a building code on or after July 1, 2023 to adopt an energy code with equivalent or better performance than the 2021 IECC and the state model electric and solar ready code. From July 1, 2026 the benchmark becomes the state model low energy and carbon code. For an industrial owner that means roof load for future solar, conduit and panel space for electrification, and envelope performance can be requirements rather than options.

We address these in the basis of design, so the structural engineer sizes roof framing with the right allowance and the electrical engineer reserves space in the main switchgear lineup. Doing it once at concept is cheaper than retrofitting a finished roof deck or lengthening a duct bank later, and it keeps the plan reviewer from returning comments that cost weeks.

Bring the Program, We Will Return a Plan

Share your throughput targets, site address and desired move-in date. We will sketch the design-build path, the permit sequence and the equipment orders that need to start first.

Common Questions

Who owns the design if we choose design-build?

You do, according to the terms of the contract. The architect and engineers are engaged through our team, but the drawings are prepared for your facility and your permit. We document the basis of design, the owner review points and the change process in the agreement so that scope decisions are visible to you at every step.

Can we still bid the work to compare price?

Yes. We price from a defined scope, show subcontractor quotes by trade on an open-book basis and let you test major packages against the market. Owners often bid the largest packages, such as steel or refrigeration, and keep our team for site, concrete and coordination.

How does design-build handle a rail-served parcel?

We bring the track layout, switching arrangement and clearance requirements into the first site plan, because the building position and truck court geometry both depend on them. The railroad review runs in parallel with city review, and we schedule them so neither one holds up the other.

What happens when the code changes mid-design?

We track adoption cycles and the transition windows that jurisdictions publish. If a new edition takes effect before your application is filed, we compare the two and bring you the cost and schedule effect of each, so you choose the path rather than finding out at plan check.

When is traditional design-bid-build the better choice?

When the design is already complete and approved, when a public owner requires competitive bidding, or when an operator wants a single scope priced by many trades with no schedule pressure. We build that way too and still provide constructability review.

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