Most engineering firms start the meter the moment you call. We built a three-phase process so you never outspend your confidence in a deal. Light investment when risk is high. Real commitment when the path is clear.
Every project starts here. Phase 1 — zoning analysis, concept plan, and desktop due diligence — is in your hands in 10 business days. Phase 2 adds the pre-application meeting, an engineered site plan revised against staff comments, and a milestone-by-milestone permit timeline, all wrapped up in the Playbook Review Call. A flat $5,000 fixed fee.
Learn MoreWe prepare and manage your full entitlement submission — rezoning applications, planning commission presentations, public hearings, and all jurisdictional coordination. You stay focused on the deal. We handle the bureaucracy.
Learn MoreFull construction documents delivered within 8 weeks of project kickoff. Grading, stormwater, erosion control, water, sewer, and roads — every sheet your contractor needs to mobilize. Permitting included.
Learn MoreWe Engineered a Process That Spends Like a Developer Thinks.
Early in a deal, you’re dealing with unknowns — zoning, density, site constraints, seller timelines. That’s not the moment to write a $50,000 engineering check. Our process starts with the fixed-fee Predevelopment Playbook and stays low-cost through due diligence. The serious investment comes after you’ve confirmed the deal works.
It starts with the Playbook. Before you’ve committed serious capital, we go to work — not just to find a plan that fits, but to start revealing the best plan your site can support. If the site doesn’t pencil, you find out in 10 business days and move on with your capital intact. If it does, we move you through Entitlements and Core Design — each phase building on the last, every decision documented, all parties working from the same source of truth.
Too many developers spend months chasing engineers for updates on work that should be managed for them. We think that’s backwards. Our job is to protect your time, your budget, and your optionality at every stage — not the other way around.
Spend in the correct order.
No wasted capital. No wasted time.
Look at more deals.
Win more. Grow with us.
These services support your project through construction and beyond. They are scoped and priced separately from Core Design.
We provide proposals and manage communication for all external consultants required to advance your civil scope.
RFI's, submittals, field changes, pond certifications, and site inspections — managed from permit through closeout.
Construction staking and GPS machine models to keep your contractor on grade and on schedule.
Lot-level site plans and foundation staking for vertical construction.
A concept plan is a preliminary site layout showing proposed lot configuration, density, access points, and major constraints. It's the first step in evaluating whether a site will support your target product type and yield. Samford Group provides a free, engineer-informed concept plan — delivered in 10 business days with zero obligation — so you can evaluate a site's potential before committing capital.
Costs depend on site size, product type, and scope. Samford Group structures its process in three phases — starting with the $5,000 fixed-fee Predevelopment Playbook, followed by entitlement management, and finally construction documents. This phased approach means you never invest more than your current level of certainty justifies.
From initial concept through construction documents, a typical residential development takes 6–12 months depending on site complexity and jurisdiction. Entitlements (rezoning, planning commission, city council) can take 60–120 days. Samford Group's phased process is designed to compress this timeline by parallel-tracking tasks and managing agency coordination proactively.
Yes. In Alabama and Georgia, civil construction drawings stamped by a licensed Professional Engineer are required before any jurisdiction will issue a land disturbance or building permit for a development project. Beyond the legal requirement, a good civil engineer protects your budget through value engineering and prevents costly redesigns by coordinating all site disciplines from day one.
Have a project in Auburn, Opelika, Lee County, or anywhere across Alabama and Georgia? Start the conversation.