Feasibility & Tendering for a Mixed-Use Refurbishment

Project Overview

The owner of a mixed-use commercial property in Weoley Castle, a hot-food takeaway at ground floor with a self-contained flat above, was looking to reconfigure and upgrade the premises with a scheme of internal and structural alterations. Before committing, they needed to know whether the scheme was viable, what it would cost to build, and how the structural elements would be designed. AXIOS Building Consultants was appointed as the client-side consultant to answer exactly those questions.

This is the work that happens before a spade goes in the ground: appraising the scheme, pulling together the design information, testing it against real contractor prices, and giving the client a clear, comparable basis on which to decide. AXIOS acted for the owner throughout, not as designer or contractor, but as the consultant coordinating the pieces and protecting the client’s interests.

The AXIOS Role

AXIOS was engaged to take the scheme from idea to a tender-ready, priced package:

• Carried out a feasibility appraisal of the proposed internal and structural alterations to the takeaway and the flat above
• Inspected and recorded the existing premises to inform the scheme and the pricing
• Procured the structural design from a consulting engineer and coordinated it with the proposed layout
• Prepared the works for tender and obtained competitive tenders from contractors
• Reviewed and compared the returns so the client had a clear, like-for-like basis on which to decide
• Liaised with the wider team (designer, engineer and building control) to keep the package coordinated

The Property

The premises is a mixed-use unit on a suburban parade: a hot-food takeaway occupying the ground floor, with a self-contained residential flat on the floor above. The existing building showed the wear typical of a long-established trading unit, a tired rear elevation, dated internal finishes and a layout in need of reworking to suit the proposed use. Recording that existing condition was the starting point for both the feasibility appraisal and the tender information.

Feasibility & Options

The feasibility stage tested whether the owner’s aspirations for the unit could actually be delivered, structurally, practically and within a sensible budget. Working from the proposed layout, AXIOS identified where structural intervention would be needed to open up and reconfigure the ground floor, flagged the practical constraints of working in an occupied mixed-use building, and set out what design information and approvals the scheme would require. That turned a loose set of intentions into a defined scope that could be priced.

Procurement & Tendering

With the structural design procured and the scope defined, AXIOS prepared the works for tender and invited prices from contractors on a common basis. Obtaining competitive tenders, rather than accepting a single quotation, gave the client genuine price competition and a clear read on the market rate for the work. AXIOS then compared the returns and advised the owner, so the decision to proceed could be made on solid information rather than guesswork.

What AXIOS Delivered

• A feasibility appraisal of the proposed internal and structural alterations to the mixed-use unit
• An inspection and record of the existing premises to inform the scheme and the pricing
• Procurement and coordination of the structural design from a consulting engineer
• A tender-ready package and competitive tenders obtained from contractors
• A clear, like-for-like comparison of the returns with advice on how to proceed
• Client-side coordination across the designer, engineer and building control

Outcome

The owner came away with what they needed to make a confident decision: a scheme shown to be feasible, a coordinated structural design, and real, competitive prices for the work, not a single take-it-or-leave-it quote. By running the feasibility and tendering as the client’s own consultant, AXIOS turned a rough idea for the premises into a defined, costed and buildable proposition, with the client’s commercial interests looked after at every step.