Public Works is the part of a project that happens outside the property line: the sidewalk, the curb, drainage, paving, street trees, and the water and sewer connections, along with the permits to touch any of it. In Miami-Dade this work is permitted separately from the building, and where the right of way is owned or maintained by the county, it is permitted by the county even inside a city.
- It is the budget line that appears after the proforma is written. Off-site work is real money and it buys the owner nothing he can rent.
- It sets timing as much as cost. A utility tie-in scheduled by the utility, not the contractor, can decide the certificate of occupancy date.
- Ask what a site requires off-site before pricing the land. That answer moves a residual value more often than the height limit does.
- Jurisdiction is not obvious from the address. A county-maintained road inside city limits is permitted by the county, and the wrong desk costs weeks.
Related terms
All termsRight of Way
A right of way is the strip of land held publicly for a street and everything that belongs to it: pavement, sidewalk, swale, and the utilities running beneath.
DevelopmentImpact Fees
Impact fees are one-time charges a local government imposes on new development to fund the share of public infrastructure the new units will consume: roads, parks, schools, fire and police.
DevelopmentLand Residual Value
Land residual value is what a developer can rationally pay for a site: the value of the finished project, minus every cost to build it, minus the profit the risk demands.
Terms arrive with the writing.
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