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Design & documentation · Nationwide
A project moves more clearly when the scope, responsibilities and next decisions are defined together. True North helps turn an operating idea or property improvement into a coordinated design and permitting engagement, from early feasibility through the milestone you choose.
For business owners, tenants, homeowners, developers and property teams nationwide. Start with an idea, a property option, existing plans or a project that needs a new path forward.
Request a project reviewBefore drawing production, establish what the project needs to accomplish and which facts still need investigation.
Compare candidate properties against the same operating, access, utility and approval needs. A prelease test fit considers whether the business can function in the space. A prepurchase review considers infrastructure, existing approvals, property constraints and missing due diligence. These studies help identify questions before a commitment; they do not replace legal or financial advice.
Study building placement, density, circulation, parking, setbacks, open space and infrastructure alongside the proposed use. For redevelopment or a residential improvement, identify retained buildings, access, utility connections and investigations that affect the options. A concept remains subject to verified property information and the applicable reviews.
Organize quantities, consultant scopes, application costs and investigations for qualified estimating. Map owner decisions, surveys, design, reviews and procurement to the intended construction sequence. When work is phased, define each phase's permit boundary, temporary interfaces and conditions for completion.
The project name alone is rarely enough. An operating program records the activities, people and equipment that shape the design.
Identify employees, customers, residents, guests, students, patients and other users, together with hours, deliveries and outdoor activities. Record seated, counter, appointment, drive-through, pickup or self-service arrangements and how people and goods move through the property.
For food service, document preparation, cooking, cooling, washing, storage and waste. For beverages, include ice, water, refrigeration, dispensing gases and equipment. Alcohol service and smoking activities need their own locations, ventilation or circulation interfaces and applicable operating-approval coordination.
Record the actual care model, sleeping and supervision arrangements, mobility assistance and treatment functions. Animal uses need housing, grooming, isolation, cleaning and waste information. Educational uses need ages, group sizes, attendance, laboratory activities, equipment and outdoor-use needs.
Identify process sequences, materials, utility demands, hazards and maintenance access. For storage, describe commodities, packaging, racks, heights and charging areas. Assembly uses need seating, standing, performance and changing event layouts; aquatic uses need user groups, supervision and support facilities. Temporary activities also need duration, power, sanitation, crowd movement and removal plans.
The agreement can cover a complete coordinated package or a defined part of the work. These are different deliverables, with different inputs.
Compare concept layouts and forms, develop the selected dimensions, materials, equipment and systems, then prepare the agreed drawings, details, schedules, specifications and calculations. Coordinate responsible professional design and sealing for the disciplines and jurisdiction involved. Drawing production supports that responsibility; a seal is not a substitute for it.
Adapt an authorized prototype or stock plan to the site, dimensions, climate, loads, foundations, equipment and local requirements. Compare layout, material or system alternatives against performance, design intent, approval implications and available cost information before documenting the selected change.
Define whether the work stops at application preparation, includes authorized submission and follow-up, or continues through resolving administrative conditions and collecting issued permits. Owner representation covers the agreed communications, meetings and decision records. Private approvals and other agency applications are identified separately.
For a takeover or stalled project, inventory completed work, usable records, reuse rights, unresolved comments and responsible professionals. Unpermitted work or a violation may require investigations, corrective drawings or an authority-directed resolution. Expired permits and changes to approved designs need their own restart or revision scope. Limited help can address a specific exhibit or response without assuming responsibility for unrelated work.
Where included, coordinate bid documents, contractor input, procurement interfaces, design-related construction administration, observations, inspections and authorized changes. Physical construction is delivered through responsible partner contractors. Occupancy and operating approvals, final records, tests, manuals and warranties form distinct handoff milestones. Portfolio, on-call and postoccupancy support retain a separate record for each location and change.
A written scope connects what will be delivered to the people, facts and decisions needed to deliver it.
Identify the property owner, tenant, operator, applicant and contractor. Establish who may instruct the team, authorize access and photography, sign applications, pay each cost and approve changes. Record landlord versus tenant obligations, the professional responsibility for each discipline, communication contacts and how unresolved decisions are escalated.
Define buildings, suites, floors, rooms, outdoor areas, utilities and off-site work. Record retained conditions, demolition, relocated elements and work already built, including concealed conditions and missing approvals. Coordinate construction classification and the implications for the proposed changes.
Maintain equipment information, design loads and criteria, code-edition assumptions, owner selections and verification needs. The deliverable list identifies sheets, models, reports, calculations, applications and final records. The completion definition identifies the endpoint: concept, drawings, submission, issuance, construction or occupancy.
Track who must decide outstanding items and which drawings or applications depend on them. Record any change to scope, fee, timing, outside work or deliverables before additional work proceeds. Share current backgrounds and reconcile discipline interfaces so one change is not lost in another part of the package.
A complete drawing set or selected property is not required for the first conversation.
Describe the business or improvement, property options, desired milestone, existing approvals and the most important constraints. Identify who can make decisions and provide records or access. Leave confidential documents out of the public inquiry; we can establish the appropriate handoff after discussing the scope.
We identify missing inputs, necessary professional disciplines, authority interfaces and included deliverables. The proposal separates True North's work, outside professional or investigation services, agency costs and partner construction.
Resolve the agreed decisions, coordinate current documents and track the chosen milestone. Design maturity, property constraints, discipline count, owner changes and separate applications affect fee and timing; approval decisions remain with the reviewing bodies.
Before you begin
Yes. Start with your operating idea, area needs and property options. We can define comparison criteria or a feasibility scope. Site-specific drawings and applications depend on the property ultimately selected and verified information about it.
We can scope a feasibility review of the proposed use, layout, access, infrastructure, existing approvals and missing investigations. The result identifies options and dependencies; it is not a blanket determination that any proposed development is approvable.
List each deliverable, discipline, application, review-response allowance and handoff milestone, along with exclusions and who supplies missing information. A drawing-only engagement and an engagement continuing through permit issuance have different completion points.
Payment responsibilities need to be agreed between the relevant parties and recorded in the project scope. We identify the charges and payment-related holds; the website cannot determine obligations under a particular lease.
The owner or authorized representative approves the business decision. Responsible designers assess technical effects, and changes affecting an application or approval are coordinated with the applicable reviewing parties. Each step and updated version should be recorded.
Your next step
Start with what you know. We’ll help define the path ahead.