Capitol/CM

Capitol Construction Management, Inc. — Conceptual benchmark

AACE Class 4 · order of magnitude

Price the program
before the design exists.

Define the program and we will come back with a cost range, a development cost per IT megawatt, and — more useful at this stage — the three or four decisions actually moving the number.

Conceptual budgets go wrong in a predictable way. A dollar-per-megawatt figure gets borrowed from a different market, a different rack density and a different year — then anchors a pro forma for eighteen months while the real drivers move underneath it.

We run your inputs through the same equipment-led model we use on live programs: CSI-structured, built up from generator count and cooling topology rather than down from a blended rate, with labor and material indexed to the market you are actually building in.

  • Electrical infrastructure — generator count follows facility load, not IT load. Usually the largest single line and the one most exposed to lead time.
  • Rack density and liquid share — these set the cooling topology. The same megawatt prices very differently air-cooled versus direct-to-chip.
  • Phasing — building one carries the sitework and the full general conditions. Buildings two onward do not, and escalation compounds against each start date.
  • Market — labor and material index separately, and a structural or seismic requirement moves the shell before anything else.

What you get, and what you don't

IncludedA Class 4 range, development cost per IT MW, the drivers moving it, and a walkthrough call. No charge, no obligation.
Not includedThe model itself — equipment schedule, CSI line detail, OFCI long-lead matrix, staffing build-up, cash flow and regional comparison. That is paid work, scoped separately.
BlanksAnything you leave open gets a documented planning assumption. Fewer blanks, tighter range.
TurnaroundTypically two to three business days.

Request a benchmark

Six fields is enough to run it. Open the second block if you already know the technical definition — the range comes back tighter.

Program definition
Optional — tightens the range

Leave any of these blank and we substitute a documented planning assumption. The first four move the number most.

Who to send it to

Your details are used to prepare the benchmark and follow up. Nothing is shared or sold.

Received.

We will come back within two to three business days to schedule a short walkthrough of the range and what is driving it.

If it is time-sensitive, email Frank@CapitolCM.com directly.

About these figures. A conceptual benchmark is an AACE Class 4 order-of-magnitude indication prepared from limited information and documented planning assumptions, intended to frame early discussion. It is not a cost estimate, a budget, or a basis for financing, and it does not reflect a quantity take-off, a design document set, vendor quotations or current equipment lead times. Figures should not be relied upon for investment, lending or contractual purposes. A project-specific estimate requires a defined basis of design.