Applying the Design-Build Process to Self-Storage Projects

Building a self-storage facility is more complex than ever. Rising costs, evolving codes and tighter timelines make it essential to assemble the right team from the start. The professionals you involve in your project, like architects, engineers, builders and specialists, play a critical role in determining whether it progresses smoothly from concept to completion or faces expensive delays and redesigns that strain the budget.

This is where the design-build approach proves its value. By integrating design and construction professionals within a single, coordinated framework, this process aligns everyone’s goals and establishes a mindset of collaboration and accountability.

When the same team is responsible for facility design as for construction, creativity and practicality work hand in hand. Architects approach the project with a builder’s perspective. Contractors honor the design intent. Owners gain confidence that what’s promised on paper will be delivered in the field on budget and on schedule. For builders, design-build fosters better coordination and pride for all in delivering exactly what was envisioned. Overall, there are fewer surprises, plus predictable costs and a smoother path to lease-up.

When executed correctly, a design-build approach reduces risk, accelerates timelines and delivers self-storage facilities that thrive for decades.

The Challenge With Traditional Delivery

Many self-storage developers still rely on the design-bid-build method in which an architect completes the drawings before they’re sent out for pricing. While this approach may seem straightforward, it often leads to misaligned goals. The architect may design beyond the budget or overlook fluctuations in labor and material costs. Contractors, brought in late, react to the drawings rather than contributing during development. The results are predictable: change orders, last-minute value-engineering fixes, schedule delays and strained relationships.

The design-build approach eliminates these silos by fostering collaboration from the outset. The owner, architect, engineers, builder and key vendors work together to make informed decisions early in the process. Input from the field shapes critical details before they reach the job site, transforming disconnected handoffs into a unified effort. This shared accountability ensures smoother execution and better outcomes for all stakeholders.

The Core Team

In a design-build approach, a single core team oversees both the design and construction processes. Its job is to connect the creative vision with what’s feasible during construction while streamlining preconstruction planning, budgeting and scheduling into a cohesive workflow. In fact, the success of your self-storage project hinges on the quality and compatibility of this essential lineup. The key roles include:

Owner/developer: Establishes the project’s vision, budget parameters and long-term operational goals
Design-build manager: Acts as the central hub, overseeing coordination across disciplines, ensuring constructability and leading preconstruction planning
Architects and engineers: Develop code-compliant, efficient designs that align with site constraints and financial objectives
Subcontractors and vendors: Offer early insights on structural systems, components and materials to enhance pricing accuracy and predict lead times

Choose architects and engineers who understand the unique demands of self-storage projects, such as unit-mix optimization, fire-rating strategies, circulation efficiency and code approvals. Their familiarity with industry standards can significantly reduce the time spent on design reviews and permitting.

When it comes to your subs and vendors, including steel suppliers, door manufacturers and MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) specialists, involve them early in the process. Given today’s supply-chain challenges, their insights to pricing and availability can help prevent budget surprises and schedule delays.

Also, include your field and construction teams in the design phase. Their input can improve sequencing, identify logistical challenges and minimize rework during construction.

Assembling the right people requires technical expertise and a shared commitment to collaboration. Regular communication, accomplished through transparency, responsiveness and a solutions-oriented mindset, is critical. When everyone is aligned around shared goals and communicates effectively, it fosters professionalism and ownership. Decisions are made more quickly, friction is reduced and project momentum is maintained.

By collaborating from the outset, your self-storage design-build team can proactively identify risks, evaluate design choices against real-time cost data and refine solutions before finalizing drawings. This early engagement helps avoid the missteps and miscommunication often seen in traditional delivery models.

The Power of Preconstruction Collaboration

Preconstruction is where the design-build approach truly excels in self-storage development. Rather than treating value engineering as a last-minute cost-cutting measure, the team incorporates constructability reviews and cost validation throughout the design and development process. This preserves design intent while safeguarding the budget and schedule.

For example, during one of my company’s recent multi-story developments, early collaboration between the design and field teams uncovered opportunities to optimize. They relocated the water-service entry, reducing the required utilities; improved site conditions to eliminate the need for a retaining wall; and removed a utility closet from a unit, increasing rentable square footage to match the other units. These improvements saved thousands of dollars and enhanced the final product—all before construction even started.

This type of collaboration is achievable by using platforms like Bluebeam, BuildingConnected and Procore, which allow real-time sharing of drawings, budget updates and schedules. With a transparent and dynamic dashboard, the self-storage design-build team can immediately see the impacts of decisions, stay accountable and remain aligned as the project evolves.

Advantages of Early Team Assembly

Assembling an integrated development team early in the design-build process delivers measurable benefits across every key project metric:

Budget accuracy: Continuous cost validation throughout the design phase prevents late-stage redesigns and ensures the financial model remains intact.
Speed to market: Overlapping design, permitting and procurement phases shortens the overall project timeline, allowing operations to begin sooner.
Change orders: Incorporating field input during the design phase minimizes scope gaps and reduces the need for costly revisions.
Quality: Constructability reviews ensure design details perform as intended in the field, leading to improved durability and lower maintenance needs.
Communication: A single point of contact streamlines decision-making and clarifies accountability across the team.

These benefits are especially impactful on complex or phased self-storage developments, where challenges like zoning, stormwater management and structural coordination can otherwise delay progress. By engaging the right experts early, potential obstacles are transformed into proactive design solutions.

Lessons From the Field

The following key design-build practices consistently drive success in self-storage projects:

Engaging design-build partners early—ideally before schematic design concludes—ensures feasibility and cost considerations are integrated from the outset, avoiding costly redesigns.
Clear role definition prevents overlap or gaps, streamlining the delivery process and maintaining project momentum.
Regular coordination meetings foster trust, uncover issues quickly and resolve design questions efficiently.
Field reviews of drawings during the design phase allow the team to identify efficiencies in framing, MEP routing and sequencing. These small, early adjustments can lead to significant cost savings and smoother execution.
Adaptability is essential in a fast-changing market. Unified teams are better equipped to respond to shifts in labor availability, materials costs and code updates, ensuring the project stays on track.

By applying these practices, design-build teams transform potential challenges into proactive solutions, delivering self-storage facilities that perform reliably for decades. Collaboration is no longer just an advantage in development, it’s a necessity. The design-build approach provides the structure, transparency and trust required to build smarter, faster and better, from the first sketch to the final lock on the unit door.

Brad Bentzen is the design-build manager for Spartan Construction LLC, a Golden, Colorado-based development firm that offers self-storage construction, design, due-diligence and project-entitlement services. Bentzen oversees the complete design-build delivery process for commercial construction projects, ensuring alignment between design, preconstruction and field operations. To reach him, call 720.970.2740 or email [email protected].

About the Author

Brad Bentzen

Design-Build Manager, Spartan Construction LLC

See more from Brad Bentzen

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