Open-Book CM At-Risk
CM at-risk means Grandview joins during design, prices the work open-book as drawings develop, then holds the trade contracts and a guaranteed maximum price — so overruns beyond that number are ours, not yours. It fits Utah owners who want early cost input and full cost visibility, delivered under our B100 general contractor license.
When CM at-risk is the right structure
Choose CM at-risk when design isn’t finished but the budget already matters, and you want one party accountable for both the number and the build. It sits between two neighbors in our construction management lineup. Under CM-as-agent, you hold the trade contracts and pay actual costs; at-risk moves those contracts — and the overrun risk — onto Grandview’s side of the table.
It also differs from simply signing a GMP contract on finished drawings. The GMP is one instrument inside CM at-risk; the delivery method is everything before it — constructability review, live estimating at each design milestone, value engineering while changes are still cheap. If you mainly want cost-plus billing with a ceiling, cost-plus with a GMP cap is the closer fit.
Typical candidates in our Utah County and Salt Lake County work: ground-up commercial where the owner needs a bankable number before design development ends, phased work in occupied buildings, and custom projects on bench lots where geotechnical findings will move the foundation budget mid-design.
What “open-book” means in the contract, not the brochure
Plenty of contractors say open-book. The version worth signing is written into the agreement as specific rights. Ours includes:
- Full bid visibility. You see every trade bid we receive, the scope-leveling sheet, and the award recommendation — including when we recommend the second-lowest bidder and why.
- Cost-coded billing. Every pay application ties to a cost code with subcontractor invoices attached. Our fee and general conditions are separate line items, never blended into trade costs.
- A contingency ledger. The GMP carries a stated contingency. Each draw against it is logged with a reason, and you see the running balance monthly — not at closeout.
- Audit rights. You or your accountant can inspect the job cost records. Good work should not require detective work.
- A written savings split. If buyout and final cost land under the GMP, the contract states the percentage returned to you. That clause is what keeps a GMP honest.
The last point matters most: a GMP set high enough never gets tested. Open-book records are how you verify the ceiling was real.
How the engagement runs, design through GMP
- Preconstruction agreement. A modest, stated fee covers estimating, constructability review, and scheduling during design — usable work product even if the project stops here.
- Milestone estimates. We price the drawings at schematic, design development, and permit set, flagging scope drift between versions in writing. Estimates are built to current Utah-adopted code — Utah adopted updated I-codes effective July 2026, and pricing against the old edition is a reliable way to manufacture change orders later.
- GMP conversion. Once scope is settled, the open-book estimate becomes a guaranteed maximum price with a listed contingency, listed allowances, and the savings-split clause. You see exactly what’s inside the number before signing it.
- Buyout and build. Grandview executes the trade contracts and manages licensed electricians, plumbers, and HVAC subcontractors — we hold those contracts and coordinate, sequence, and quality-check their work within your project.
- Closeout. Final cost reconciliation against the GMP, contingency return per the ledger, lien waivers, warranties, and as-builts.
Schedule realism is part of the risk we carry. Permit review in fast-growth cities like Lehi and Saratoga Springs runs longer queues than established Provo or Salt Lake City, so the GMP schedule is built from actual jurisdiction timelines. Once we hold the number, optimistic scheduling costs us, not you.
What does CM at-risk cost in Utah?
As ballpark planning numbers: preconstruction fees on mid-size Utah projects run from a few thousand dollars to low five figures depending on design duration, the CM fee commonly lands at 5–10% of construction cost, and GMP contingency is usually carried at 3–7% of the trade total. None of that is a quote; fee and contingency are stated in writing before you sign.
What moves the contingency up is uncertainty we’d otherwise be pricing blind: incomplete geotechnical data on the Wasatch Front’s expansive clay and collapsible bench soils, winter concrete work scheduled through Utah’s 100-plus annual freeze-thaw days, and occupied-building phasing. What moves it down: a finished geotech report, settled finishes, and a decisive owner. A well-scoped project simply needs less cushion — and under open-book terms, unused cushion comes back to you instead of quietly becoming margin.
Questions we actually get
When in design should a CM at-risk join the project?
Schematic design is the sweet spot — early enough that estimating can steer structure and systems decisions, late enough that there’s something real to price. Joining after the permit set still works, but most value-engineering leverage is gone by then — you’re closer to plain GMP contracting.
What happens if costs go over the GMP?
Overruns on work within the defined scope are Grandview’s to absorb — that’s the “at-risk” part, and it’s why the GMP carries a contingency. Owner-directed scope changes are different: those are priced as change orders against the same open-book records, so you see the actual cost of the change, not a penalty number.
Can the GMP be set before drawings are 100% complete?
Yes, and it often is — typically around the design-development or early permit set, with listed allowances covering unfinished items like finishes or fixtures. The honest trade-off: earlier GMPs carry larger contingencies and more allowances. We’ll tell you when the design is too loose for a responsible number.
Who verifies your license and the subcontractors’?
You can, directly. Grandview builds under Utah DOPL B100 general contractor license #14282236-5501, verifiable at dopl.utah.gov, and every trade we contract under the GMP must hold its own current DOPL classification. Subcontractor licenses and insurance certificates live in the project file you can access.
Where this fits in our management work
CM at-risk is one delivery model within planning and project management. If another builder will hold the contract and you just want construction literacy on your side of the table, owner-side construction management is the better fit — and cheaper, because we’re advising rather than carrying the number.
Tell us what you’re working on
We reply within a couple of hours during business hours — a day at most. You’ll get a straight read on scope, sequence, and budget before anyone commits to anything.