Architectural Fee Guidelines
These guidelines are to be used to determine the Lump Sum Architectural & Engineering (A&E) fees for "Basic Services" for all School Facilities Division (SFD) projects, including both New Construction and Deficiency Correction projects.
** These are guidelines, not a schedule **.
The A&E fee for an individual project should be determined by both the difficulty and the estimated cost of the project. In New Construction projects, the fee should be determined by the square foot times the formula cost of the planned facility or project (Construction Cost) multiplied by a factor determined by the size and complexity of the scope of the project.
See below both "Project Types" (to determine the difficulty of the project) and the "Fee Guidelines Multiplier" (for the percentage multiplier) to determine the project’s fee.
BASIC SERVICES:
The architectural contract should identify and include all of the services necessary to design and construct the project under "Basic Services" without any hidden or unknown cost. The services to be included as part of the contract as "Basic Services" shall consist of architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical, civil, and landscape design.
These services are described in the American Institute of Architect (A.I.A). Document B141, "Standard Form of Agreement Between Owner and Architect (1987 Edition)", Article 2, and Add, Modified and/or Delete paragraphs 2.6.5, 2.6.5.1, 2.6.15.1, 3.2, 3.2.1, 3.2.2, 3.2.3, 3.3.1.2, 3.3.1.3, 3.3.3, 3.3.4, 3.3.6, 3.3.9, 3.4.1, 3.4.4, 3.4.9, 4.6.1, 4.6.1.1, 5.2.2, 5.2.3, 8.6, 8.7.1, 8.7.2, 8.7.3, 10.2.1.1, 10.2.1.2, 10.2.1.4, 10.2.1.6
Lump Sum Fee: This is a fixed A&E fee that is based on a percentage of the estimated cost of construction for the approved project specified for a defined scope of work.
Construction Cost: The cost of construction includes the cost of the construction of the building, site improvements, and all fixed and installed equipment. It does not include Furniture, Fixtures & Equipment (FF&E), testing, surveys, permits, land cost, studies, contingencies, or A&E fees.
PROJECT TYPES:
Group A – MORE THAN AVERAGE COMPLEXITY PROJECTS:
New complex stand-alone facilities such as special purpose classrooms, laboratory classrooms, libraries, auditoriums, and food service facilities.
Group B – AVERAGE COMPLEXITY PROJECTS:
Total facilities such as new elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, or large additions to existing facilities.
Group C – LESS THAN AVERAGE COMPLEXITY PROJECTS:
New less complex stand-alone facilities such as warehouses, maintenance facilities, bus barns, offices, and storage facilities or any repetitive design use of a facility.
Group D – REPAIRS AND RENOVATIONS:
Miscellaneous repairs and renovations, alterations to facilities, code corrective work or upgrades, system replacements, etc.
FEE GUIDELINE MULTIPLIER:
| Construction Cost: | Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ 0 to $ 100,000 | 8.8% | 7.9% | 7.2% | 8.9% |
| $ 100,000 to $ 400,000 | 7.8% - 8.8% | 7.2% - 7.9% | 6.6% - 7.2% | 8.3% - 8.9% |
| $ 400,000 to $ 1,000,000 | 7.2% - 7.8% | 6.7% - 7.2% | 6.2% - 6.6% | 7.8% - 8.3% |
| $ 1,000,000 to $ 4,000,000 | 6.3% - 7.2% | 6.0% - 6.7% | 5.7% - 6.2% | 7.2% - 7.8% |
| $ 4,000,000 to $10,000,000 | 6.0% - 6.3% | 5.5% - 6.0% | 5.3% - 5.7% | 6.8% - 7.2% |
| $10,000,000 to $20,000,000 | 5.5% - 6.0% | 5.5% - 6.0% | 5.0% - 5.3% | 5.7% - 6.8% |
| $20,000,000 and above | 5.5% - 6.0% | 5.5% - 6.0% | 4.3% to 5.0% | Up to 6.0% |
FEE FORMULA:
Estimated Construction Cost _____________ x Multiplier ______ % = Fee
The higher the Construction Cost in each range, the multiplier percentage should be proportionally lower.
Districts in remote areas and/or with high cost per square foot should not use a higher multiplier percentage than usual. The increased cost per square foot difference automatically increases the fee to cover the additional cost of travel. Since most of the architects' offices and their consultants are in urban areas, the cost to design and produce the contract documents would be the same as if the project were in the same city.
See the example below for a 750-student elementary school:
City:
750 x 95 S.F/ student. = 71,250 S.F.
71,250 S.F. x $85 / S.F. = $6,056,250
$6,056,250 x 5.7% = $345,206 = Fee
Rural:
750 x 95 S.F/ student. = 71,250 S.F.
71,250 S.F. x $125 / S.F. = $8,906,250
$8,906,250 x 5.6% = $498,750 = Fee
Adopted: January 7, 1999
Modified: September 2, 1999
Certified Correct: November 13, 2000