5.7.1 Concept Meeting

A. When a concept meeting is scheduled, its purpose with respect to design and construction topics is to establish feasibility and to identify key issues. For this reason, the Lender should provide the following:

1. The name, address, contact information, and resume or summary of experience of the Project Architect and any other design professional(s), due diligence providers and the General Contractor if known. Of particular importance is the development team’s previous experience with HUD mortgage insurance programs for new construction.

2. Maps and photographs illustrating the location, boundaries, conditions, and features of the site, noting, in particular, the location and size of public utility lines available to serve the site, means of access and egress, and proximate properties. Such survey of the site should identify key issues presented by the site and its environs, such as, but not limited to the following:

   • Terrain, rock, or steep slopes that may require detailed exploration, unusual site costs or result in any claim of site impracticality exemption from the design and construction accessibility requirements of the Fair Housing Act.

• Absence or unavailability of public utilities, required offsite work, unusual public permitting or development entitlement processes or costs.

• Insufficient or deficient access to the site due to limitations on existing streets and grades or lack thereof and/ or adverse traffic patterns or conditions.

  • Flood plain or flood hazard areas and the location of recognized environmental conditions that indicate the presence of contamination as defined by ASTM E 1527, or protected sites or artifacts.

3. The Borrower’s summary design program or concept prepared after inspection of the site and preliminary review of existing or proposed zoning, subdivision, and building code requirements. The summary should characterize the contemplated number, size, and kind of buildings and dwelling units and should include a conceptual site plan and sketch plans of typical units and buildings.

4. The Lender description of existing or ongoing needs for site due diligence and provide a plan or description of how due diligence tasks will be completed, including appropriate sequencing, coordination of studies, and the identity of prospective providers. The Lender should include a discussion of environmental issues and plans to address them.

5. The Lender’s identification of any other contemplated sources of funding that would trigger design and/or construction requirements and describe such requirements (e.g., any Federal assistance, such as HOME, will trigger Section 504 and UFAS; state or local assistance, including LIHTCs, may trigger a state or local agency plan for compliance with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act).

6. The Lender‘s statement of whether streamlined processing of design and construction documents is proposed and, if proposed, the reasons such processing is both needed (e.g., use of LIHTCs is expected) and realistic (e.g., development team is experienced with HUD-insured mortgage programs for

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Chapter 5 Architectural and Construction Analysis 5.7 New Construction Processing through Firm Commitment

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construction, has successfully executed physically similar projects, and the site and/or environs present no complex challenges or prospective delays).