About Us
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The Amend Group is a professional services organization founded in 1989. Our passion is integrating comprehensive brokerage, project management, design and construction services in a process we call Program Management. Many of our key specialties are detailed in the diagram below – we have expertise in all functional areas that a client may need in a real estate transaction. Whether a client needs to find space to lease, wants to build a new building, or wants to redesign space they occupy, The Amend Group can fashion a custom solution that meets their needs – exactly.
Our integrated approach gives our clients a single point of contact, responsibility and accountability. Our professionals are specialists, working passionately in a collaborative environment to implement creative solutions to complex business decisions.
The Amend Group Program Management Approach:
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Move-In
Coordination- Provide planning and coordination of the relocation process. We provide the client with a list of potential moving firms and assist in the selection of a moving firm. We advise the client on how to deal with the moving firm and with other peripheral service providers, such as those for vending machines, copy machines, bottled water service, etc.
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Requirements
Discovery- The project team interacts with client representatives to develop in detail all aspects of the requirement: current lease situation and operations, desires for the new facility, overall project strategy, communications, process and deliverables. All details are documented in a Requirements Discovery Worksheet, completed by the client with our assistance, which serves as the baseline framework for the project. The completion of this phase allows the project to be “kicked off.”
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Furniture
Coordination- Designers work with the client to provide selection of furniture that meets the space plan requirements, conforms to company standards, and takes advantage of the client’s corporate agreements with preferred vendors for expeditious and efficient procurement. Also included is coordination of the installation of the furniture in the facility, assuring that the furniture is placed and installed correctly with the appropriate power and voice/data connections.
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Strategic
Planning- The design team sets project goals and objectives from the upper organization levels through department and user levels. This task establishes the client’s program, financial and time requirements, and scope of the project. Management is surveyed to determine the corporate culture that will influence the project. The data derived from this survey establish the parameters and subjective impression of all further design.
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Construction
Management- Construction management represents the client in ensuring that the project quality objectives are met in the construction of the project by monitoring conformance of construction to contract documents. Construction management attends all project construction meetings as the Owner’s Designated Representative, and includes information from these meetings in weekly reports to the client. Construction management assists the client by monitoring and controlling the scope, schedule and cost of the project, and taking or recommending necessary actions to keep the project under control.
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Programming
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Space Planning- Programming consists of consultation with users to establish and document design objectives and criteria for the project. Initial approximate gross facility areas and space requirements are developed. Special equipment and systems are identified.
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Cost
Estimating- The general contractor develops detail estimates of costs of construction from drawings and specifications as they become available. These estimates are on a 16-division breakdown and include taxes, insurance, permits and fees. Cost estimates are used to track the cost performance of the construction against the project budget.
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Budgeting and
Scheduling- A conceptual budget, based on the known scope of the project, is developed at the beginning of the project, taking into account the funds available. The budget estimate is updated at critical milestones of the project, such as at completion of design development and at release of construction documents. The conceptual budget estimate and the recurring updates are critical for keeping the potential cost of a project within the available funding during the design process.
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Design
- The size and character of the project is further refined and described. Preliminary plans, sections, elevations, and details are developed, along with development of dimensions, areas and volumes. The design team develops a palette of materials, colors, and elements that is consistent with approved corporate standards. Documents will also define partition locations, furniture and equipment layouts, and any special design features. Construction requirements of the project are set forth in detail, based on approved design development documents. The construction documents serve to define the intent of the design.
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Test
Fits- No two buildings are exactly alike. A significant result of our Programming process is that our site selection process utilizes a well documented and up-to-date estimate of the usable square footage required by our client. As the site selection process leads to a short list of options, we engage our designers to prepare an initial plan of the proposed space in each option using the known usable square footage. The result of this process is a relevant comparison of each option, showing which space is most/least efficient, a comparison of the constructability of each option, and the impact on overall project economics.
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Transaction and
Negotiation
Strategy- Under the direction of John Amend, utilizing his 25 years of experience, our team utilizes information collected in the Planning stages, knowledge of the real estate and capital markets, and a long history of outstanding transactions to create the most effective strategy for a specific transaction. Great transactions require great strategy and appropriate implementation of that strategy, which is our hallmark.
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Financial
Analysis- Using several proprietary financial evaluation tools, we provide detailed financial analyses for all proposals to allow “apples-to-apples” comparisons of options for our clients. No two projects are ever alike and no two buildings are analyzed in the same way, so our financial analysis tools allow for flexible customization of a client’s specific requirements, and for accurate evaluation and comparison of alternatives. The result is properly evaluated facility options, providing additional strength to allow for a properly negotiated lease.
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Market
Research and
Evaluation- Using all available tools for collecting real estate market information, our team gathers the latest information on all available space meeting our client’s project-specific requirements. Neither online databases, nor recently published reports provide up-to-date information on every property/every available space – it requires personal knowledge of each building and communication with building representatives and brokers in the market. The big advantage we have over our competitors is that we are able to draw on the expertise of our in-house designers, engineers and project managers to assist in relevant evaluation of every potential facility option, and provide objective comparisons to allow our clients to make the most educated decision.
We provide these services, and others, as stand-alone offerings, but our clients benefit more when we bundle our services together as a turnkey solution. By offering a beginning-to-end solution, our clients get an accelerated time schedule, value engineering opportunities, strict adherence to client budgets across every aspect of a project, and the most competitive prices in the industry.
Based in Dallas, Texas, The Amend Group has completed a multitude of projects all across America and in Canada. Our projects range from lease transactions of a few hundred square feet to master-planned campus facilities of over two million square feet.