In any architecture project, understanding the full project cost means looking beyond construction costs. While those make up a major portion of what you’ll spend, they’re only part of the equation. This post focuses on architectural soft costs—including architectural fees, permits, and other professional services essential to completing your project. Together with construction costs, which we cover in our guide to construction costs, these expenses shape the full picture of your architecture project cost.
Think of it like this:
Construction Costs + Architectural Soft Costs = Project Cost
What are soft costs?
While construction costs include everything permanently built into the structure and site, architectural soft costs cover the other expenses owners must plan for—many of which are essential to keeping the project moving. These costs are not included in a contractor’s bid and may not be itemized under your architect’s base fee. They represent the broader range of professional services, jurisdictional fees, and other logistics that are crucial to successful project completion.
Architectural soft costs: Professional services
Let’s start with design fees. At Christie Architecture, our architectural fees vary depending on the scope of work. Based on past projects, our fees typically fall between 8–15% of the construction cost.
For early budgeting, we suggest using 10% as a starting point. For example, if you expect a $500,000 construction cost, planning for around $50,000 in professional design fees is a reasonable estimate of your architectural soft costs.
In addition to architectural fees, you may also need:
- Surveyors
- Structural engineers
- Geotechnical or civil engineers
- Landscape architects
- Energy or code consultants
- Interior designers
Once we understand your goals and the full scope of the project, we can provide a tailored proposal outlining our services and identifying the additional consultants you might need.
Architectural soft costs: Jurisdictional services
Construction always involves some bureaucracy—and the fees that come with it. These jurisdictional costs can include:
- Design development fees: During the design process, fees may cover land use procedures (such as design review or historic review), zoning adjustments, and building code appeals.
- Permit fees: These fees cover permit document review and inspection by the local jurisdiction. Incidentally, these are also set by “construction valuation,” but that is another blog post.
- System Development Charges (SDCs): These costs are non-permit review fees to the jurisdiction that maintains public facilities like Parks, Transportation, Storm, Water, Sewer, etc.
- Local taxes: Sales taxes on construction projects, where applicable and potential increases in property taxes depending on the size and scope of your project.
Other soft costs to consider
In addition to professional and jurisdictional services, other soft costs may include:
- Temporary power and utility hookups during construction.
- Special inspections (e.g., soil bearing capacity, specialty footings, welding, fireproofing, and concrete testing to name a few).
- Appliances, whether installed by the contractor or the owner.
- Landscape construction (when not part of the primary construction contract).
- Interior design items like furniture, window treatments, and artwork.
- Move-in costs or temporary housing costs.
What else do I need to know about project soft costs?
Soft costs vary widely depending on the complexity of your project, your budget goals, and the jurisdiction in which you’re building. But every successful architecture project accounts for these expenses upfront.
We work with clients to develop a realistic understanding of architectural soft costs in the context of the full project. The more we know about your specific project, the better we can help you plan, prioritize, and move forward with confidence. Call us to talk about your project—we’ll help you shape the total cost picture from the very beginning.