Land & Development Process
The MaxLife Commercial specialty — from raw dirt to ribbon cutting
Commercial development is where the biggest upside lives — and the biggest risks. This course walks through the complete development process: site selection, feasibility, entitlements, zoning, site planning, civil engineering, construction contracting, and project delivery. Based on MaxLife Commercial's live Florida projects.
What you'll learn
- Evaluate raw land for commercial development feasibility
- Navigate entitlements, rezoning, variances, and special exceptions
- Understand site plan approval and construction documents
- Build a development pro forma including hard costs, soft costs, and contingencies
- Manage construction delivery and lender draw requests
Lessons
- 01
The Commercial Development Process — Raw Dirt to Ribbon Cutting
An overview of commercial real estate development — the phases, the players, the risks, and the rewards of building from the ground up.
12 min - 02
Site Selection and Feasibility Analysis
How to identify, evaluate, and control development sites — from initial screening through preliminary feasibility and contract negotiation.
12 min - 03
Entitlements, Zoning, and the Political Process
How to navigate entitlements — rezonings, comprehensive plan amendments, variances, conditional use permits, site plan approvals, and the political process that determines which projects get built.
12 min - 04
Site Planning and Civil Engineering
How site planning and civil engineering turn raw land into a buildable site — site layout, grading, drainage, utilities, and the construction documents that drive permits and bidding.
11 min - 05
Construction Contracting and Project Delivery
How to contract and deliver construction — selecting contractors, contract types, bidding, change management, schedule control, and managing the build phase to completion.
12 min - 06
Development Pro Forma and Feasibility Math
How to build a development pro forma — hard costs, soft costs, financing costs, contingency, revenues, returns, and the sensitivity analysis that determines go/no-go.
12 min - 07
Lease-Up, Stabilization, and the Developer's Exit
How to lease, stabilize, and exit a development — leasing strategy, tenant selection, refinancing to permanent debt, and the exit options that complete the development cycle.
12 min
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