The idea for a building often starts in spreadsheets, in the language of finance. But it will be constructed in a very different world, using a different vernacular. My own experiences in a construction trailer during the summer of my first development internship were humbling. The number of foreign documents and terms overwhelmed me as much as an equity waterfall would overwhelm a plumber.

I don’t think I’m the first person in real estate finance to have left a construction trailer confused. So to help us get on the lead lap, I asked Jordan Schulz of Keel Partners (with whom I also did an internship) to introduce us to a few of the primary processes at work in construction management. Jordan is an “owner’s representative.” This means he is the person from a development team who represents the firm at the table with contractors and subcontractors. It requires him to have a foot in both worlds!

We first discussed stages of architectural drawings (starting at 0:39), document packages used in construction management (4:25), the question of whether we should spend longer working on drawings before we start construction (12:18), major stages of construction itself (15:32), and the question: how much more efficient can and will construction become (19:57.) Hope you enjoy our chat as much as I did!