As the design-build (D-B) industry continues to grow in popularity, some owners are hiring a third-party professional to act as their owner representative. The concept is not new and, for many building owners, the money has been "well spent" when assessing the value of what this individual and/or firm brought to the process.
Those who are familiar with D-B understand that trust and partnership are two important ingredients in making this project delivery service a success. Trust and partnership must exist between the owner and the team providing the single-source solution to the building program. Having said this, it is not unusual for an owner to delegate his/her trust and partnership responsibility to a third party so that his/her own time can be better spent with the core business that is probably driving this need for the building program.