How to craft Effective Development Briefs: A Guide for Real Estate Professionals
Unlock the full potential of your projects with structured and strategic briefs
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In today’s Newsletter, we will cover how to write competent Development Briefs.
The Development Brief is an essential document for the project.
It should include all the key information to follow to execute the project vision.
Without a Brief, your team will not understand the full scope of the project.
They will seek constant direction from you.
They may even become reactive with the risk of producing a mediocre outcome.
The London Plan, Published by the Mayor of London in March 2016, suggests that a development brief: ‘…sets out the vision for a development. It is grounded firmly in the economic, social, environmental and planning context. Apart from its aspirational qualities, the brief must include site constraints and opportunities, infrastructure including energy and transport access and planning policies. It should also set out the proposed uses, densities and other design requirements.’
Development Briefs are not complicated
Don’t overcomplicate this process.
The Brief is an evolving document and will change through the various stages of the project.
Start simple to get the ball rolling, then review and add further detail as the project advances.
The important aspect is to include the critical information to guide the team.
How to Write a Development Brief
Provide a brief overview and introduction to the project.
Describe the site and its location.
Provide a detailed Design Brief, breaking down the project element by element.
List relevant Local and National authorities the scheme should follow.
Provide an outline timeline for the project.
Let’s dive in.
1. Provide a brief overview and introduction to the project.
People reading the brief want to know who is the Client and what is the project.
Make sure you include the Company Name, project type, and project location.
This is a good place to provide a clear overview of the Vision for the project to inspire the reader.
2. Describe the site and its location.
Understanding the site and its location is very important to start.
This section it’s an opportunity to show your readers that you know the site inside out.
Make sure you provide a description of elements bounding the site and include a site diagram. You will also include an illustration of your analysis of the site.
Then move on to describe any characteristics of the site.
Is it a piece of brownfield land? Is the land contaminated?
Is there an existing building on the site? Are there any particular Heritage Constraints?
Are there any particular infrastructures?
Are there any other known constraints such as easements, or rights of way on the site?
3. Provide a detailed Design Brief, breaking down the project element by element.
This section represents the meat of the brief.
It will communicate the general scope of the project.
Dive deeper into the Project Vision. Then provide General Requirements and describe the Urban Context.
Provide a simple breakdown of the Building Areas and Uses.
Then proceed by describing in more detail the various project elements:
Building entrances and lobbies.
The main use of the building.
Extra uses.
How to design the floorplate.
Are there any amenity spaces such as outdoor terraces?
Expected Building Services and how they should perform?
How should the Lifts perform?
What are the Environmental criteria?
Parking.
Storage for bicycles and relevant amenities.
What structural materials to use or not?
4. List relevant Local and National authorities the scheme should follow.
Never assume that the project team is aware of the Legislative Standards to follow.
Don’t be afraid to state the obvious ones.
Make sure you mention any specific standards important for the project.
Include a catch-all sentence stating that the list is non-exhaustive.
5. Provide an outline timeline for the project.
Teams need to divide resources and need time to mobilise for the project.
Include exact dates, quarter milestones or more generic timeframes.
The timeline should align with the Development Business Plan.
In Summary
Having a competent Development Brief is fundamental to kick-start a project.
It can be a very simple document and get more detailed later on.
It must be aligned with the Scope defined by the Business Plan.
That’s all for today.
See you next week.
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Insightful read, this article does a great job breaking down how to craft effective development proposals in real estate, with practical guidance on strategy, value creation, and stakeholder communication.
Regards
Preeti
Broker at https://youandhouseproperties.com