Commercial Project Delivery Methods in South Florida

Project delivery methods define the contractual and organizational structure governing how a commercial construction project is planned, designed, procured, and built. In South Florida — spanning Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties — the selection of a delivery method carries direct consequences for schedule risk, cost exposure, permitting sequencing, and contractor accountability. Understanding the structural distinctions between these methods is essential for owners, developers, lenders, and public agencies operating in one of the most active commercial construction markets in the southeastern United States.

Definition and scope

A project delivery method is a formal contractual framework that determines the relationships among the project owner, the design professional, and the construction entity. The method governs who holds design liability, who assumes construction risk, how contracts are structured, and at what point each party enters the project.

In South Florida's commercial sector, delivery method selection intersects with commercial building permits, local contractor licensing requirements, and Florida Statutes Chapter 255 (for public construction) and Chapter 287 (for procurement of professional services). The Florida Department of Management Services administers state-level rules governing public project delivery selection, while local agencies in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach operate under county procurement codes that may impose additional method restrictions.

Scope of this page: Coverage applies to commercial construction projects within the three-county South Florida metro area. Residential construction, single-family projects, and state-level infrastructure delivered under Florida DOT or FDEP authority fall outside this scope. Projects in Monroe County, the Treasure Coast, or other Florida regions are not covered by the jurisdictional references cited here.

How it works

The four dominant delivery methods active in South Florida commercial construction are:

Design-Bid-Build (DBB): The owner retains a design professional (architect or engineer) who produces a complete set of construction documents. The project is then competitively bid; a general contractor is selected and holds a separate contract with the owner. Design liability remains with the design professional; construction liability rests with the contractor. This is the traditional linear sequence.
Design-Build (DB): A single entity — typically a design-build firm or a contractor with an in-house or teamed design professional — holds a unified contract for both design and construction. The design-build contractors active in South Florida assume responsibility for both design adequacy and construction performance. Florida Statute §255.20 authorizes public agencies to use design-build when justified.
Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR): The owner retains a construction manager early in the design phase under a professional services contract. At a defined milestone — typically completion of design development documents — the construction manager provides a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) and assumes construction risk. The owner retains the design professional separately.
Construction Manager as Agent / Program Management: The construction manager acts solely as the owner's representative and does not hold construction contracts or accept construction risk. All trade contracts flow directly to the owner. This structure is common in large institutional and public-sector projects in South Florida.

Construction management services in South Florida may be structured under either the at-risk or agency model depending on owner risk tolerance and project complexity.

Common scenarios

Design-Bid-Build remains the default for publicly bid projects in Miami-Dade County under the county's procurement ordinance and is frequently used for office buildings and retail build-outs where design is fully developed before procurement. Retail commercial build-out contractors and office building contractors regularly operate within DBB structures.

Design-Build is prevalent in South Florida for industrial facilities, hospitality projects, and healthcare facilities where schedule compression justifies overlapping design and construction phases. Hospitality construction contractors and healthcare facility construction contractors frequently operate under DB agreements because fast-track delivery reduces carrying costs on high-value assets.

CMAR is common in Broward County School Board and municipal government projects, where the public owner wants early cost certainty without surrendering design control. The GMP structure limits the owner's exposure while the construction manager coordinates subcontractor relationships and manages site logistics.

Agency CM / Program Management is used for complex multi-phase developments such as mixed-use developments and large industrial construction projects, where the owner operates an internal capital projects team that requires professional augmentation rather than risk transfer.

Decision boundaries

Selecting among these four methods requires evaluation across at least five criteria:

Schedule: Design-build compresses delivery timelines by 10–20% on comparable projects (per DBIA research); DBB requires sequential completion of design before procurement begins.
Risk allocation: CMAR and DB shift construction risk to the contractor entity; DBB separates design and construction risk; agency CM retains all risk with the owner.
Budget certainty: CMAR provides a GMP; DBB provides a lump-sum bid price; DB provides a fixed or GMP price depending on contract terms; agency CM provides no contractor-held price guarantee.
Regulatory and procurement constraints: Public owners in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach are subject to Florida's Consultants' Competitive Negotiation Act (CCNA) and §255.20 limitations that govern when design-build may be used without competitive design-build selection.
Contractor qualification: DBB qualifications are evaluated through a formal bid process; DB and CMAR selection processes emphasize qualifications and fees under CCNA-equivalent procedures.

The contract types governing each method differ substantially: DBB commonly uses AIA A101 or A102 stipulated-sum or cost-plus forms; CMAR uses AIA A133; DB uses AIA A141. South Florida's commercial construction codes and compliance requirements apply regardless of delivery method — the structural, hurricane-resistant construction standards, and flood zone construction requirements are non-negotiable constraints that affect design-phase sequencing under any method.

DBB versus Design-Build represents the most consequential binary choice: DBB preserves owner design control and separates accountability but extends preconstruction timelines; DB accelerates delivery and consolidates accountability but reduces owner leverage over design decisions once the contract is executed.

For federally funded or Davis-Bacon-covered commercial projects in South Florida, delivery method selection also intersects with prevailing wage requirements and certified payroll obligations that apply across all delivery structures. Owners evaluating bonding requirements and insurance structures should confirm that the selected delivery method is compatible with the surety instruments required by their lender or public agency.

The South Florida Commercial Contractor Authority index provides the broader reference landscape for contractor qualification, regulatory compliance, and sector-specific construction resources across the three-county metro area.

References

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