There are so many variables that contribute to the cost of construction.
Some are controllable through design decisions, product selection, and construction methodology. That’s the tip of the iceberg…
The bulk of the iceberg is hidden, ever-changing dynamics within GC firms, subcontractors, and manufacturers.
Legacy procurement methodologies such as negotiated bids and hard bids fail to get to the next step that’s required to unlock the savings in the hidden iceberg.
Real Price Discovery & Optimization requires the power of the “invisible hand” that moves your GC and subcontractors through market feedback to continuously find a way.
TWO MAIN USE CASES
Boost Your Underwriting Confidence
You’re evaluating land or a new development and need a reliable conceptual budget—fast.
The old way: Call one GC, hope their “back-of-napkin” number is accurate, then make a multi-million-dollar decision on a single data point.
The risk: If that price is high, you lose the deal. If it’s low, your pro forma explodes later.
The reality: You can’t pepper 10 GCs for free estimates without burning relationships.
The C Street way: Upload your conceptual drawings once. Any qualified GC interested in the project can submit a price—no cold calls, no obligations.
Get 5–10 unbiased conceptual bids instead of one guess.
See a clear pricing range and spot outliers instantly.
Give lenders and investment committees the market data they need to say “yes.”
A GC would never base a hard bid on a single subcontractor quote—why should you underwrite a deal on a single GC number?
Lower Your Construction Costs
You have drawings in hand and need to sharpen the final price.
The old way: Ask for a few VE ideas, collect a handful of GC bids, ask for best and final — helpful, but rarely enough.
The gap: How do I capture the best the market can offer?
The C Street way: Upload your pricing package and we invite qualified GCs to compete.
Real-time feedback loop – GCs fine-tune every line item as they see where each number ranks, driving prices down.
Crowdsourced value engineering – Collect cost-saving ideas from all bidders plus our expert network and competitively price them.
Data-driven selection – Choose your GC, but with a crystal-clear view of the entire cost landscape.
C Street adds visibility, competitive pressure, and expert insight—often trimming 10–20 % before the first shovel hits the ground.
Case studies on the 3 forces:
Case study 1 - open market force
An experienced local developer was negotiating with 1 GC on a 50% CD set. Price was 119M. They trusted the numbers because it was an open book GMP with subcontractor backup. The project didn’t pencil so they put it on the open market. They found a GC for 97M. 18.5% lower. The GC had access to different subcontractors. They ended up executing the project under schedule and with some savings.
Case study 2 - feedback and iteration force
A developer who specializes in 1 product (podium wood frame multifamily) in 1 narrow geography (north boston) assumed they were getting the best possible construction costs for their projects due to their superior knowledge from specialization. GC 1 was at 72M. GC 2 was at 73M. Both had full subcontractor backup. The chief estimator of GC 2 said there is no way the project can be built for anything lower than 73M.
After getting feedback on where they ranked on each trade, GC 1 found a way to 68M. GC 2 found a way to 67M. This happened 2 more times and by the end, GC 2 found a way to 63M — same design, yet 10M lower! The chief estimator said “obviously there was a way as long as I wasn’t ranking 1st on each trade and we found it.”
Case study 3 - Crowdsourcing and competitively pricing VEs
A project had set a GMP of 111.2M after 18 months of traditional value engineering. It then started to crowdsource VEs from all the subcontractor bidders and select experts which were then competitively priced. It produced 342 ideas, worth 13.4M in potential savings, of which 8.5M were approved, all without reducing the rentability of the project.
Knowledge gives you an edge. Discovery gives you a wider and deeper edge.
18.5%
13.7%
7.6%