Work record / Development / Shelby American Las Vegas
Shelby American: I delivered Las Vegas without a general contractor
Tellus could not be the general contractor in Nevada, and the opening date would not move. So I rebuilt the delivery structure around the owner, and the doors opened on schedule.
The seat
From October 2014 to March 2015 I was the owner-side lead and construction manager on Shelby American's move in Las Vegas. The work ran through Tellus Design + Build. Over about four years the Shelby relationship grew from a personal referral into four phases across two Shelby companies.
| Sector | Manufacturing and automotive |
|---|---|
| Type of work | Owner-side representation and construction management |
| Where | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Years | October 2014 to March 2015 |
| How long | Five months |
| Through | Tellus Design + Build |
| Credits | Common Ground Jesse Fowler, Owner-side lead and construction manager |
What I was brought in to decide
Shelby American is the Las Vegas operation where Shelby performance cars get built. In 2014 it was relocating into a new building, with an opening date that could not slip. The job was a build-out inside an existing structure, not new construction.
It all began with a personal referral, and by my count it grew to about $14 million over four phases for two Shelby companies. Tellus was the general contractor for Shelby International, the licensing arm, in Carson. In Los Angeles we were the design-builder for the Carroll Shelby International museum and lounge. In Las Vegas I was the owner-side lead and construction manager for Shelby American. The very first job was a mural, painted on the side of one of their buildings. We treated it like a whole building, since the next job depended on it.
What we did
- I read the license before I read the budget. Tellus was not licensed as a contractor in Nevada. That shut us out of the general contractor seat, but it did not shut us out of the job.
- I set three delivery structures next to each other and compared them by who holds what. One was a Nevada general contractor on a lump sum. One was a pass-through contractor of record. The third was trade contracts held by the owner, with Tellus acting as the owner's construction manager. The pass-through put another layer in place without taking any risk off the owner, so it dropped out.
- I recommended owner-held only after checking three conditions against this job. I knew the trades, the scope was a build-out, and the date was real.
- I told Shelby plainly where the risk would land. Overrun exposure and warranty recourse would sit with the owner, and in return the contractor's layer would come off the cost and off the calendar. Shelby said yes with eyes open.
- Every trade signed directly with Shelby, under its own Nevada license. Tellus wrote the scopes and the schedule of values and ran them from the owner's side. Buyout went as fast as phoning people we already knew.
- I ran the sequence, the cost, every change, and the building department myself.
Results
- The facility opened on schedule in March 2015.
- A Tellus press release the next year put the saving against the general contractor route at upwards of $300,000. It adds up the contractor's fee and the slice of general conditions that our coordination replaced, then deducts what Shelby paid Tellus to run the job.
- A test for skipping the general contractor, with three conditions. You know the trades, the job is a build-out and not new structure, and the date cannot move. If any one fails, hire the contractor.
The lesson
Go owner-held when a general contractor's layer would only bill you for coordination you can already handle yourself.
Stories from this work
Questions about Shelby American Las Vegas, answered
Firm record
Common Ground keeps its own account of this engagement: Shelby American Las Vegas on the Common Ground wiki.