Building Renovation Business Case
This is a practical guide to building a business case for a building renovation project — the justification that weighs the costs, benefits and risks of doing the project, adapted to the realities of renovating or refurbishing an existing building.
What a Business Case is
A business case is the justification that weighs the costs, benefits and risks of doing the project. For the full concept and how it works in general, see Business Case. On a building renovation project it plays the same role, tuned to this kind of work.
Why it matters for a Building Renovation project
Building Renovation projects live or die on renovating or refurbishing an existing building. A well-built business case gives the team a shared, explicit reference for exactly that — reducing ambiguity, aligning stakeholders, and making problems visible early enough to act. Skipping it, or doing it generically, is how building renovation projects drift into avoidable delay and cost.
What to include
- Problem or opportunity
- Options considered
- Costs and benefits
- Financial appraisal (ROI/NPV/IRR)
- Recommendation
Building Renovation-specific considerations
Tailor the business case to the risks that most often derail building renovation projects:
- Unknown existing conditions
- Occupied-site working
- Scope changes on discovery
Example
On a real building renovation project, the business case would be shaped by renovating or refurbishing an existing building. In particular, it should explicitly account for the project’s biggest risks — unknown existing conditions, occupied-site working, scope changes on discovery — rather than treating them as afterthoughts.