Small multifamily projects, defined here as developments from 24 to 100 residential units, represent a significant share of the new multifamily construction in the western United States, particularly in secondary markets and infill locations. A 40-unit workforce housing development in Fort Collins, a 60-unit urban infill project in Portland’s Buckman neighborhood, or an 80-unit Class B project in Albuquerque’s Northeast Heights all require the same interior finishes scope as a 300-unit project but at a scale where some large production finishes subs are not interested in bidding.
The interior finishes coordination requirements on a 60-unit project are structurally identical to those on a 200-unit project. Grab bar blocking must be confirmed before framing. Countertop template must happen the day cabinets are complete. The unit type matrix must be reviewed before procurement. The finishes sub who treats a 60-unit project as low-priority, or who assigns a less experienced project manager to a small project, creates the same problems on a 60-unit project as on a 200-unit project, just at smaller scale.
How small project bid processes differ
On a large multifamily project, interior finishes subs are typically invited to bid through a formal prequalification process. The GC has leverage to require detailed scope submissions, references, and pre-qualification packages. On a 60-unit project, the bid process is often less formal, and the field of qualified bidders may be narrower.
Smaller projects attract a different mix of bidders than large production multifamily. A finishes sub who is the right size for a 300-unit project may not bid a 60-unit project or may assign a less experienced team to it. A sub who specializes in smaller projects may have the right scale but less experience with the technical coordination requirements that seven-division interior finishes scope demands.
The prequalification questions that matter on small projects are the same as on large projects, but the reference pool changes. Ask for references on projects between 24 and 100 units in comparable markets. A sub who has only worked on 200-unit projects may not have a process calibrated for the faster pace and tighter sequencing of a small project, where each floor is a smaller proportion of the total and where schedule compression means less margin for sequencing mistakes.
Scope consolidation on small projects
On small multifamily projects, the coordination overhead of managing multiple finishes subs is proportionally higher than on large projects because the superintendent has fewer resources to absorb the management burden. A 60-unit project superintendent managing five separate finishes subs, each with their own delivery schedule, their own sequencing requirements, and their own contact number, is spending a significant fraction of their coordination capacity on interior finishes management.
Seven-division interior finishes scope under one sub is more valuable on a small project, in terms of superintendent time saved, than on a large project where the coordination overhead is distributed across a larger team. A single finishes contact for a 60-unit project simplifies the superintendent’s daily coordination significantly.
Unit type matrix complexity on small projects
Small multifamily projects often have a proportionally higher number of unit types relative to unit count than large production multifamily. A 60-unit project with four unit types means that on average each type appears fifteen times. On a 300-unit project with six types, each type appears fifty times. The complexity of managing four unit types on a 60-unit project is not significantly lower than managing six types on a 300-unit project from the finishes sub’s perspective.
Confirm that the finishes sub has reviewed the full unit type matrix before procurement, regardless of the project’s total unit count. A cabinet arriving in the wrong configuration to unit 12 of a 60-unit project creates the same problem as it does in any other multifamily project.
Countertop fabrication timing on small projects
On small projects, all cabinet installation on a building may complete within a week or two. The countertop fabricator receives all templates within a short window rather than spread across multiple months. Confirm with the countertop sub that the fabrication shop can handle the full project’s template volume within one to two weeks of template submission and that the fabrication lead time does not extend when multiple floors template simultaneously.
On small projects, this conversation is often more important than on large projects, because the small project schedule leaves less margin for fabrication delays that extend the project timeline.
Finding a finishes sub who treats small projects as primary
The challenge on small multifamily projects is finding a finishes sub who treats the project as a primary commitment rather than as overflow work between larger projects. A sub who books a 60-unit project as capacity fill between two 300-unit projects will deprioritize it when the 300-unit projects need attention.
Ask the finishes sub directly: what percentage of your current project portfolio is in the 24-to-100-unit range? A sub who works primarily in this size range has processes calibrated for it. A sub who treats it as secondary will deliver secondary attention.
How Innergy serves small multifamily projects
Innergy covers interior finishes on small multifamily projects from 24 units through 100 units across all seven divisions with the same pre-construction process, the same blocking specifications, the same countertop template timing standards, and the same hardware finish coordination that we apply on large production projects. We do not assign less experienced staff to small projects. For interior finishes on a 24-to-100-unit project in TX, WA, OR, CO, UT, or NM, contact us and we respond within one business day.
The superintendent on a small multifamily project deserves the same organized pre-construction coordination from the finishes sub as the superintendent on a 300-unit project. The same blocking specification deliverables, the same countertop template timing commitments, the same hardware finish coordination across divisions. Scale does not change the coordination requirements. It only changes how many units the coordination must cover.
Innergy treats every project, from 24 units to 400 units, with the same pre-construction discipline. For small multifamily GCs in TX, WA, OR, CO, UT, or NM who want a finishes sub who shows up to the pre-construction meeting with blocking specifications in hand, contact us and we respond within one business day.