Multiplex hard costs: what the building itself costs to put up

What the per-square-foot number actually covers

A quoted rate per square foot covers the building's construction: site preparation, foundation, structure, exterior envelope, windows, roofing, plumbing, heating, ventilation, electrical, interior finishes, appliances, and the labour to install all of it. It does not cover design, permits, city fees, financing, or land. Those sit in soft costs and city fees, and they are the reason an all-in project number lands well above hard costs alone.

The rate is applied to gross building area, not to the livable area buyers see in a listing. A fourplex with four 1,200 square foot units has 4,800 square feet of livable space, but the building that contains them also needs stairs, corridors, party walls, mechanical rooms, and storage. Gross area for that building typically lands near 5,800 square feet. Applying a rate to the smaller number is the single most common way a homeowner's own estimate comes in low.

Venture Pacific quotes hard costs from drawings rather than from a rate card. Until a design exists, the range below is the honest answer, and the feasibility review is where it narrows to a number specific to one lot.

The site conditions that move the number

Slope is the biggest single variable. A lot with more than about two metres of fall across the building footprint needs retaining, deeper excavation on the high side, and often a stepped foundation. On North Shore and Burnaby mountain lots that work alone can add $150,000 to $300,000 before a single wall goes up.

Soil comes second. Much of Richmond and parts of south Vancouver sit on soft alluvial deposits where a geotechnical engineer will call for preload, ground improvement, or piles. A pile foundation on a fourplex is a six-figure line that a comparable Kitsilano lot on firm till never sees.

Existing servicing is the quiet one. A lot with an undersized water service, an old clay sewer lateral, or overhead power that has to go underground carries upgrade costs the neighbouring lot may not. These are rarely visible until the servicing review, which is why Venture Pacific runs that review before quoting rather than after.

Trees, easements, and setback geometry shape the building footprint itself. A protected tree with a large root protection zone can push the building into a shape that costs more per square foot to frame, even when the unit count stays the same.

Why finish level matters less than owners expect

Owners often assume the spread between $350 and $550 per square foot is mostly cabinets and countertops. Finishes move the number, and they move it less than site conditions do. Going from a builder-grade kitchen to a high-end one across four units might shift a fourplex by $80,000 to $140,000. A pile foundation and a retaining wall on a difficult lot can shift the same project by more than double that.

This matters for sequencing. A homeowner deciding between finish levels is making a marketing and resale decision that can wait until design development. A homeowner on a sloped or soft-soil lot is facing a structural cost that determines whether the project pencils at all, and that answer needs to come first.

Escalation and how contracts handle it

Material and labour prices move across a build that runs 10 to 16 months. How that risk is shared depends on the contract. A fixed-price contract puts escalation on the builder, and the price reflects that. A cost-plus contract passes actual costs through with a fee, so the owner carries escalation and sees every invoice.

Neither structure is free. A fixed price includes a contingency the builder keeps if it is not spent. Cost-plus is transparent and leaves the owner exposed to a market that moves against them. Venture Pacific works to a fixed price on multiplex projects so the partnership's pro forma holds, and prices that risk openly rather than burying it.