FAQ's

These are the four services we offer, and most projects need more than one. Land planning covers the early, big-picture work: zoning, entitlements, and whether a site can legally support what you want to build. Land surveying establishes the facts on the ground, your property lines, topography, and existing conditions. Civil engineering designs how the site will actually function: grading, drainage, stormwater, and utilities. Landscape architecture shapes how the site looks and feels, from planting design to outdoor amenity spaces. We handle all four in house, so they're coordinated from day one instead of stitched together after the fact.

A civil engineer designs the infrastructure that makes a site work: grading so water drains the right way, stormwater management, utility connections, and the site plan a city needs to issue permits. On most projects, civil engineering is what turns an entitled piece of land into a buildable one.

A boundary survey establishes your property lines. An ALTA/NSPS survey covers that same boundary work plus a much wider set of details lenders and title companies require for commercial transactions, like easements, encroachments, and utilities. For the full breakdown, read What's the Difference Between a Boundary Survey and an ALTA/NSPS Survey?

Usually, yes. Survey conditions change over time, and most lenders and title companies require a current survey no matter how recent the old one is. For the full explanation, read I Already Have a Survey From the Previous Owner, Do I Still Need a New One?

A grading and drainage plan sets the finished elevations across a site and shows how stormwater will move across and off it. Every developed site needs one, both to meet local approval requirements and to keep water away from buildings, parking, and neighboring properties.

Minnesota's stormwater rules are set at the state, watershed district, and city level, and most sites need a plan showing how runoff will be managed during and after construction. For the full breakdown of what's required and why it varies by location, read What Is a Stormwater Management Plan, and What Does Minnesota Require?

Entitlement is the process of getting a property approved for your intended use, which can include rezoning, platting, or a conditional use permit depending on the site and municipality. Timelines vary widely, from a few months for straightforward approvals to over a year for larger or more complex rezonings, so it's worth scoping early in a project.

Before you're under contract, it's worth confirming zoning and permitted uses, checking for wetlands or other environmental constraints, reviewing existing utility access, and getting a preliminary read on grading and stormwater feasibility. Catching a constraint during due diligence is far cheaper than discovering it after closing.

Cost and timeline depend on site size, complexity, and how many approvals are involved, so we scope every project individually rather than quoting a flat rate. As a starting point, we're happy to walk through your specific site and give you a realistic range for both budget and schedule.

Our portfolio spans multifamily, senior living, commercial, civic, healthcare, and hospitality projects across the Twin Cities metro. Whatever the sector, the same four services (civil engineering, surveying, landscape architecture, and land planning) apply, just with different priorities depending on the project.

We regularly work alongside architects and other project partners rather than in place of them. In most cases, we join the team early to handle the civil, survey, landscape, and planning scope while your architect focuses on the building itself, and we coordinate directly with them throughout.

Ask about their experience with your specific project type and municipality, who will actually be on your project day to day, how they handle schedule changes, and whether they can carry a project from early feasibility through construction. A firm that can answer those clearly, and show you similar past projects, is a good sign.

Reach out with your site address and a general idea of what you're planning, even if it's still early. We can typically give you a quick read on feasibility and next steps before any formal agreement is needed.

Check out our insights page, where we publish short articles digging into specific topics like stormwater requirements, ALTA surveys, and site due diligence for Twin Cities development projects.