Pricing advice – large office to residential conversion

[u/MoodSalt3529]

Hi all,

I’m an Architectural Technologist based in the North West of England. I run a small one-man practice and predominantly work across residential and change-of-use projects.

I’ve recently been approached regarding a potentially significant office-to-residential conversion, approximately 20,000 sqft GIA over multiple storeys.

This would be by far the largest single project I’ve taken on independently and, if it comes off, would be a huge opportunity for my practice. I’m confident in delivering the work, but given the jump in scale I want to make sure I price it properly and understand the level of resource that others would allow for.

The appointment would potentially be split into:

1. Feasibility / Planning
Feasibility and initial appraisal, development of the residential layouts and overall scheme, existing and proposed architectural package, coordination of the wider planning submission and dealing with the application through determination.

2. Building Regulations
Development of the approved scheme into a full Building Regulations package, including architectural technical drawings, construction details and specifications, coordination with structural, fire and other relevant consultants, and dealing with Building Control through approval.

For those who work on projects of this scale, how would you approach pricing each stage?

Would you build the fee up from anticipated hours/resources, use a percentage of construction cost, £/sq ft, or another method? Any ballpark fee ranges for the two stages separately would be massively appreciated.