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Building a Commercial Development?

Site engineering for commercial projects — geotech, civil, and the coordination that holds it together.

Commercial Projects Have Different Engineering Requirements

Commercial development engineering is more complex than residential. Building loads are higher (requiring deeper borings and more extensive soil testing). Parking lots and loading areas need pavement design. Stormwater compliance is stricter (Priority Development Project standards). And the building department review process is more detailed.

Most commercial projects require both geotechnical and civil engineering. The geotech engineer provides foundation design parameters, pavement sections, and earthwork specifications. The civil engineer designs the site grading, stormwater management, parking layout, and utility infrastructure. And everything has to coordinate — the grading follows the soils report recommendations, the stormwater BMPs are sized for the civil design flows, and the utility trenches meet geotechnical backfill requirements.

We handle both disciplines under one contract, with one project manager coordinating everything. This eliminates the finger-pointing that happens when geotech and civil are separate consultants who don't talk to each other.

What You'll Need

Engineering deliverables for commercial development projects:

Required

🔩

Geotechnical Investigation

Deeper borings, more extensive lab testing, and higher design loads than residential projects. Includes foundation design, pavement sections, seismic parameters, and earthwork specifications.

Required

🅿️

Pavement Design

The geotech report includes pavement section recommendations for parking areas, driveways, and loading zones based on soil support values (R-value) and expected traffic loading.

Required

📐

Site Grading Plan

Civil plan showing building pad elevations, parking lot grades, drainage flow, retaining walls, and tie-ins to adjacent properties and public streets. Coordinated with architectural site plan.

Required

💧

Stormwater WQMP / LID

Commercial projects are Priority Development Projects requiring treatment BMPs. Includes BMP sizing, maintenance plans, and hydromodification analysis if required by jurisdiction.

Required

🌧

Hydrology & Drainage

Calculates stormwater runoff, sizes storm drains and catch basins, and may include detention basin design if required to limit post-development flows.

Often Required

🚧

Utility Plans

Design of on-site water, sewer, gas, and electrical infrastructure. Coordinates with existing utilities and ties into public systems at approved connection points.

Required

🏗

Compaction Testing & Observation

Continuous observation during grading. We verify building pad preparation, pavement subgrade compaction, utility trench backfill, and retaining wall construction.

Why Commercial Projects Need Better Coordination

Commercial projects fail when the engineering disciplines don't talk to each other. The geotech recommends overexcavation and the civil doesn't account for the additional export. The civil designs a detention basin and the geotech discovers the soil won't percolate. The architect wants the building at one elevation and the civil needs it 2 feet higher for drainage. These conflicts cause delays, cost overruns, and change orders.

This is why we handle geotech and civil under one scope. One project manager coordinates everything, one fee covers both disciplines, and the plans go out coordinated from day one. No finger-pointing, no coordination gaps, no surprises during plan check.

2-3x

Commercial borings are typically 2-3x deeper than residential due to higher building loads

100%

Of commercial projects in California require stormwater treatment (Priority Development Project criteria)

Contract covers both geotech and civil — one scope, one fee, one point of contact

What to Expect

Preliminary Consultation & Proposal

We review your project scope, meet with your architect/owner, and send a comprehensive proposal covering all geotechnical and civil deliverables.

Geotechnical Investigation

We drill borings across the site — deeper and more extensive than residential. Lab testing determines foundation design, pavement sections, and earthwork specifications.

Civil Design & Coordination

While the geotech report is being finalized, we begin civil design — grading, drainage, utilities, stormwater. Everything coordinates with the architectural site plan and soils report recommendations.

Plan Check Support

We respond to building department corrections on our plans. Commercial projects typically have multiple correction rounds — we support the project through final approval.

Construction Observation

We provide continuous observation during grading, testing during earthwork and pavement construction, and final reports for building department closeout.

Building Something Else?

ADU Engineering Guide

Engineering deliverables for ADU construction in California.

Read Guide →

Hillside Development Guide

Slope stability, specialized foundations, and hillside engineering requirements.

Read Guide →

Retaining Wall Engineering

When you need geotech for walls, and what's involved.

Read Guide →

Common Questions

Higher building loads require deeper borings and more lab testing. Larger sites mean more grading and drainage design. Stormwater compliance is more complex. And plan check review is more detailed. The scope is legitimately larger.

You can, but we don't recommend it. Coordination problems between separate consultants cause delays and cost overruns. Having one firm handle both eliminates finger-pointing and ensures the plans coordinate from day one.

It's a regulatory term from the Regional Water Quality Control Boards. Commercial projects, restaurants, parking lots, and certain other project types are automatically PDPs and must meet stricter stormwater treatment requirements.

Always. Building pads, pavement subgrade, utility trenches, retaining wall backfill — all require testing. Commercial projects typically have a full-time observation and testing program during grading.

Depends on project size, but budget weeks to months. Geotechnical investigation and report: 3-5 weeks. Civil design: 4-8 weeks. Plan check: 2-6 months (varies widely by jurisdiction). Construction observation: duration of grading and site work.

Ready to Get Your Commercial Development Started?

Tell us about your commercial development project and we'll send a proposal with every deliverable you need — scope, fee, and timeline.

Request a Proposal Talk to an Engineer