Skip to content
The Investor’s Map · Purpose-Built Rental · Edmonton

From an idea to a leased-up building.

Developing purpose-built rental is one of the best things you can do with capital right now — whether it’s your first project or you’re investing into Edmonton from another city. It is also a long, technical road with real ways to lose money. Here is that road, laid out honestly: where you are, what is ahead, and where an independent advisor — and boots on the ground — actually earns their fee.

We build and develop our own purpose-built rentals, and have built multi-family for decades. Whether you are local and doing it for the first time, or investing from out of town, this map is your independent read — including eyes on the ground when you cannot be here yourself.
We develop our own.
Not consultants who’ve read about it — owners who’ve carried the risk.
Decades of multi-family.
Purpose-built rental, from raw land to lease-up and hold.
Independent of your trades.
We protect your interests — no markup on work we don’t self-perform for you.
01 — The Development Journey

Eight stages. Three where we typically work.

Every purpose-built rental follows the same road. You will not need help with all of it — but you should be able to see all of it. Select any stage to see what happens, what quietly goes wrong, and how the “what will it cost?” answer gets more real as you go.

1Development
Acquisition & Planning · Stages 01–03
Engagement: Development Advisory
2Pre-Construction
Design & Development · Stages 04–05
Engagement: Pre-Construction Advisory
3Construction & Turnover
Build → Lease-Up · Stages 06–08
Engagement: CM / Owner’s Representation
The honest answer to “what will it cost?”
There is no number on day one — only a range. It narrows as the project takes shape. We benchmark budgets against the current local Altus construction cost surveys.
Viewing
Stage 01 · ±35–40% · order of magnitude
Concept · ±40% rangeContracted · ±5% firm
What happens here
Test the site for zoning fit and a realistic unit count — Edmonton’s zoning does a lot of the work here.
Build a first pro forma: land + hard + soft + financing against stabilised rents.
Pressure-test against CMHC MLI Select thresholds if that is your financing route.
Decide go / no-go before you spend real money.
What owners underestimate
Most first-time owners fall for a site before it pencils.
Cost certainty±35–40% · order of magnitude
Risk levels are illustrative of where first-time owners most often lose money — not a determination on your specific project.
02 — Where You Fit

A two-minute honest check.

Answer these and we’ll point you to the right starting engagement — or tell you it’s too early to need us at all. No obligation, and no phone call required first.

Q1Do you have a site?
Q2Where are you, honestly?
Q3What is your biggest unknown right now?
Q4Have you developed before?
Q5How hands-on do you want to be?
Your recommendation appears here.
Answer a couple of questions and we’ll route you to the right first step — or tell you to wait.
03 — How We Work With You

Three engagements. You don’t need all of them.

Hire us for a single stage or for the whole road. We are independent: our job is to protect your interests and challenge the narrative for the project’s benefit — not to sell you construction you don’t need.

The entry point · replaces the free phone call

The Feasibility Review

A fixed-fee engagement that turns “how much will this cost?” into a decision you can defend. We test the site, the zoning fit, and a real pro forma — and tell you honestly whether it pencils, before you tie up capital.

You walk away with
A site & zoning fit read for your unit count
A first pro forma benchmarked to current market cost
A clear go / no-go, and what the next step costs
A fixed fee — not an open-ended retainer.
ENGAGEMENT 01 · Stages 01–03

Development Advisory

Acquisition & Planning · idea → approvals
What we do
·Feasibility & pro forma review
·Site & deal assessment
·Financing & CMHC MLI Select posture
·Approvals strategy & consultant team
You get
A go/no-go you can take to a lender.
Fixed-fee Feasibility Review to start; retainer or hourly advisory thereafter.
ENGAGEMENT 02 · Stages 04–05

Pre-Construction Advisory

Design & Development · approval → contracted price
What we do
·Design-to-budget oversight
·Consultant coordination
·Cost benchmarking & value engineering
·Tender / GMP & contract negotiation
You get
A price you can trust and a contract you can hold.
Retainer, or a percentage of the pre-construction budget.
ENGAGEMENT 03 · Stages 06–08

CM & Owner’s Representation

During Construction · contract → leased-up
What we do
·Onsite supervision & quality assurance
·Progress-draw certification
·Change & schedule control
·Turnover, warranty & owner’s-rep reporting
You get
The building you were promised, on the record.
Percentage of construction cost, or fixed monthly for owner’s rep. Onsite supervision available.

Where are you on the road?

Tell us the site, the stage, and the unknown that’s keeping you up. We’ll tell you honestly whether it’s time to bring us in — and what the first step costs.

Tyler DeGagne, President · 780-800-0050 · Edmonton, AB
Start your project intake
BUILDiQ
A Lionsgate Group Division
Independent construction & development consulting. We protect ownership’s interests across the project lifecycle.