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Site Selection

Whether you’re looking within South Carolina or the Southeast US, let us put our decades of experience to work in finding the best site for you business and ensuring that you receive the best incentive package to make you the most competitive.


Master Planning

When considering a new building project it makes sense to step back and take a long view of the potential of your facilities. Designing a Master Plan is not unlike designing a building. It may be less detailed, but makes certain assumptions about the future facilities. A good Master Plan anticipates changes in future requirements and is flexible enough to give guidance for future projects without creating roadblocks.

Master Planning begins by identifying the facts, needs and goals that you may require. This is usually accomplished by a Programming effort. The purpose of Programming is to identify the problem before providing a solution. This method can be used on many different levels, and tends to be less specific during Master Planning, but gets very detailed in building design.

Phase I:
In order to begin the Master Planning effort, several site related analyses must occur:
 Natural Conditions: Solar orientation, prevailing winds, vegetation.
 Man-Made Conditions; Roads, tours of existing buildings, easements, code and zoning requirements such as setback and landscape requirements, utility access.
 Sensory Conditions: Noise, views, neighboring conditions.
 Traffic Flow Opportunities: Analyze existing roads and right-of-ways, potential pedestrian and traffic flows, parking requirements.
 Expansion Opportunities: Look at potential property acquisitions, building locations.

Phase II:
Identifying the long range goals of the facility are the next phase. This is best accomplished by holding a programming session. This is accomplished best by focus groups of 10-12 people in multiple sessions. By this process we will identify the needs of the building. There will be many who have wants and desires. There will be many who have already formulated solutions. In order to accomplish a comprehensive program, representatives from all departments must have input: Goals, Facts and Concepts are based on the following:
 Function: People, activities and relationships
 Form: Site, environment and quality
 Economy: Initial budget, operating costs, lifecycle costs
 Time: Past, Present, Future

Phase III:
After collecting the data, we will do some analysis to determine the exact nature of the problem. In the Master Plan stage of design, we will base our building areas on basic square foot per person requirements. We will suggest 2-3 possible building layouts based on the data gathered. Again, this is preliminary and is not intended to dictate exact building design. That comes later. The primary outcome will be a design concept which is flexible and efficient. Phasing of the construction will anticipate grading and building requirements. Some scenarios might include:
 A Single Building Solution
 Multiple Buildings with enclosed links
 A Campus

While none of us may have a crystal ball into the future, it is possible to direct the design of future buildings by creating a good Master Plan. L'Enfant's plan for Washington D.C. has survived and continued to influence building design for over 200 years, even though many buildings and spaces have changed over time.