How We Work
Beyond on time and on budget
Accountability, innovation and professionalism, built into every contract, meeting and inspection.
At a glance
- Model first, design second. Several pathways modelled and optimized before design is engaged.
- Capital that reaches close. More than one pathway to financial close, on one critical path.
- One accountable program. Integrated workstreams, design authority and decision gates.
- Delivery held to account. Performance clauses, weekly schedules and audited progress claims.
The challenge
Most projects run over. Ours are built not to.
A 2021 Procore survey of more than 500 owners, developers and operators, conducted with IDC, found that three out of four projects exceed their budgets, with average overruns of 27% and average delays of 69 days.
The causes are consistent: unstable cost control, repeated schedule changes, poor forecasting and misaligned expectations, all of which erode profit through higher carrying costs. Our process is designed to address each of them directly.
Our goal is not maximizing our own profit on a single project, but maximizing our relationship with our clients through successful delivery. Your success is our success.
Model first, design second
The numbers set the building, not the other way around
Most development teams engage an architect first, then discover what the market, the lender and the zoning will allow, and spend months and fees redesigning. We reverse that sequence.
- Model several pathways. We build the development pathways side by side: asset mix, tenure, phasing and capital structure, each as a full financial model with backed-up costs.
- Optimize against real-time analytics. Each pathway is tested against current market rents, hotel nightly rates, debt coverage ratios and CMHC take-out terms, so the model reflects the market and the lender as they are today.
- Test the zoning. We model the existing zoning against an achievable improved zoning, weighing the added time and carrying costs of a rezoning against the improved appraisal from density and the operating returns it unlocks.
- Recycle the capital. Where a site carries several vertical builds, each phased building is sized so its take-out financing provides the equity contribution for the next, reducing the equity the project needs and accelerating the program.
- Then engage design. Once the optimal financial model has set the framework, within the existing or target zoning, design is engaged. The design team draws a project that already works.
The result is a project that is financeable from the first drawing, with no design fees spent on options the numbers would never support.
From conception to institutional ownership
One accountable team across the full life of the asset
We conceive, structure, finance and execute, and we structure each asset from the outset for stabilization and aggregation into long-term institutional ownership, including a pathway to a group-sponsored real estate investment trust.
Infrastructure as a force multiplier
- District energy, geo-exchange, thermal energy storage, solar generation, battery storage and wastewater reuse, planned with the phasing of the development.
- Private utility corporations that create recurring utility revenue and reduce the call on municipal infrastructure.
- Systems that improve resiliency and operating efficiency while enhancing NOI and long-term asset value.
Horizontal and vertical, aligned
- Master servicing, civil infrastructure, grading and earthworks, stormwater and wastewater, transportation planning and integrated utilities.
- Infrastructure aligned with project phasing and vertical delivery, improving constructability, capital efficiency and cost performance from the earliest stages.
Capital-aligned from day one
- Absorption-aligned asset mixes and phasing strategies built for institutional underwriting.
- Clearly defined lender and investor exit strategies, conservative underwriting and disciplined cash-flow planning.
- Funding pathways through CMHC MLI Select, the Canada Infrastructure Bank and Indigenous partnership structures.
Capital pathway
We change the lender, not the work
Every pre-development program we lead is built to reach financial close more than one way.
The base case and the fallback run on the same critical path: the partnership framework, the civil drawings and pricing, the planning approval, the subdivision and the agreements with first-phase buyers are delivered once and serve both. If the preferred lender does not proceed, the pivot is essentially seamless, and the reserves built into the facility carry the interest past both exits.
Each milestone that pre-development capital funds also retires a risk an appraiser prices in today. As the planning approval, the servicing plan, committed financing and registered titles fall into place, the value of the land rises, so the lender's security strengthens through the term rather than standing still, and the land can carry the sponsor's share of infrastructure financing.
Program governance
One program, one design authority, decisions at the right table
On master-planned communities we hold program governance under a development delivery agreement, accountable to the general partner board.
Program Integration and Implementation Office
- Generates the program for every workstream and sets the pathways the team manages.
- Holds the design authority, validating program and capital decisions against the financial model.
- Runs exception-based integration, the master schedule and a KPI dashboard shared by every division.
Concurrent critical paths
- Every division sequenced in flow order and linked by predecessor, from bridge funding to financial close and title registration.
- Partnership, drawings, pricing and financing paths run at the same time and feed each other, so long-lead work starts together.
- Targets set with the municipality, the lenders and the infrastructure financier.
Decision gates and accountability
- Each decision gate brought to the general partner board: business plan and budget, capital raises and take-outs, material contracts.
- Delivery partners, contractors and the utility operator accountable to the same board under their own agreements.
- Risk and mitigant registers, and lender and investor-ready reporting, maintained through every stage.
Our advantage
Performance clauses and proven systems
Quality Assurance
- Performance clauses set clear expectations for materials, workmanship, application, construction and finish.
- A multi-level inspection process: mandatory trade self-inspections, in-house, third-party and governing body reviews.
- Trades are accountable for quality control and site cleanliness.
Schedule Adherence
- A master schedule informed by 20 years of experience, refined into trade-specific plans with resource and manpower expectations.
- Weekly recorded trade meetings, with action plans required within 72 hours for any delay.
- Six-week and two-week outlook schedules and a procurement schedule to prevent material delays.
Budget Management
- Bid analysis that weighs schedule adherence and quality, not only price.
- Detailed CCA-1 contracts informed by historical change order data to reduce reliance on contingency.
- Monthly progress claim audits, which typically identify claims 5 to 15% ahead of actual site progress before they are paid.
Site Safety
- Mandatory site inductions for every new worker and visitor.
- Daily safety briefings on risks, weather and ground conditions.
- Regular safety audits and analysis of every incident to prevent recurrence.
Technology Integration
- Real-time project management software shared by every stakeholder.
- Inspection reports, quality documentation and milestone sign-offs uploaded in real time.
- Digital master and trade schedules, recorded meetings and cost tracking.
Modern Methods of Construction
- Prefabricated wall and floor panels and volumetric modules manufactured off-site while civil and foundation works proceed on-site.
- Shorter build and lease-up periods that reduce construction interest and carrying costs.
- Double walls and separate floor and ceiling assemblies between suites, reaching sound isolation of STC 60+ and IIC 60+, well above building code.
- Tighter, net-zero-ready envelopes, less waste and embodied carbon, and a high share of Canadian content.
- An affordability layer delivered to the same design standard as market-rate housing.
Asset Management
- A central SCADA platform runs the district-wide private sustainable utility in real time.
- A Building Management System in every building, connected to the central platform, covering HVAC, indoor air quality, fault detection and predictive maintenance.
- One data layer that lowers operating costs, strengthens NOI, verifies ESG performance and supports aggregation into long-term institutional ownership.
Stakeholder Collaboration
- Early engagement with building inspectors, fire safety, WorkSafeBC and local government.
- Quarterly stakeholder appreciation days that build morale, cleanliness and quality on site.
- One collaborative environment instead of siloed workflows.
Knowledge that compounds
Every project strengthens the next
Experience that strengthens every project
Optimum draws on more than 20 years of change order knowledge across asset classes. We retain and examine the history behind project changes, whether driven by owner requirements, design issues or unforeseen project conditions, to understand their causes, impacts and resolution.
This knowledge informs how we plan, define scope and develop supplementary conditions for CCA 1 contracts. By applying lessons from past projects, we clarify responsibilities, address recurring gaps and help reduce avoidable changes and pressure on contingency funds. Our accumulated experience is an integral part of our approach and a meaningful differentiator.
Closeout that builds knowledge
For Optimum, comprehensive project closeout goes beyond completing documentation. We examine where success came from, which approaches performed better than expected, how unusual challenges were resolved and what we could have done better.
These findings become practical knowledge for future projects, informing contract provisions, design coordination, procurement and construction management. Every completed project strengthens the next, creating a growing foundation of experience that supports better decisions, more predictable delivery and lasting value for our clients.
What others say
In the words of the people we build for
The Optimum team drives a project forward with precision and excellence. Our property owners have often commented on how well informed they are kept.
David is extremely adept at steering a project through its challenges while staying on schedule. He works incredibly well with everyone involved and is highly regarded by staff and subtrades alike.
They managed the construction of our large, complex commercial development, multiple buildings on a 9.5-acre (3.8 ha) site, always conscious of our schedule and budget. It is a testament to how they handle many obstacles at once, and succeed.
Their strength in value engineering is a huge benefit to any owner. They found cost savings that neither I nor my consultants had picked up. Just as important, they are ethical and honest professionals.
On Lighthouse Landing, wood-frame townhomes and four-storey condominiums with parkades, every building came in on budget and on schedule. David is a natural leader, and his staff and trades look to the example he sets. Completing that much construction, to that standard, in that timeframe, speaks to real commitment and strength of character.
Our resort development had extensive and complex engineered retaining walls. Their ability to assess cost overruns and present viable options to reduce cost sets them apart.
A no-nonsense approach to construction management. Every stakeholder is held to their role in schedule, budget and quality. They get the job done, and done well.
One of the best we have seen at what they do.
Core values
What every project can count on
Strategic Planning
Every project begins with a clear, detailed roadmap that aligns goals with deliverables.
Strict Safety Programs
The safety of every worker, stakeholder and visitor, through daily monitoring.
Transparent Financial Management
Performance clauses, bid analysis and contingency planning keep budgets on track.
Proactive Stakeholder Engagement
Relationships with inspectors, suppliers and trades that pre-empt challenges.
Commitment to Quality
Materials, workmanship, schedules and inspections that meet or exceed expectations.
Lean overhead
Savings passed on to our clients
We are a boutique development and construction management firm founded in Calgary, with work Coast to Coast to Coast and current operations in Kelowna, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg.
Through leading-edge technology and software, and above all our highly skilled core team, we deliver projects of every size and difficulty with far less overhead than our competition. Those savings reach our clients through reduced general conditions and management fees.