Seattle Owner's Representative
TCG represents owners and developers as an independent owner's representative, protecting your budget, schedule, and scope from concept through closeout. We bring a builder's eye to construction management and preconstruction oversight across Puget Sound.
Seattle Project Cost Estimator
Describe your project and get a preliminary construction cost estimate. As your owner's representative, TCG validates these numbers against the market before you commit.
Tell Us About Your Seattle Project
Include building type, size, location in Puget Sound, special requirements, and timeline. Our AI applies Seattle prevailing wage, seismic, and permitting factors automatically.
Analyzing Your Seattle Project
Our AI is evaluating construction costs using Puget Sound market data.
Your Seattle Construction Cost Estimate
What a Seattle Owner's Representative Does, and Why It Pays for Itself
An owner's representative is your advocate on a construction project, and only your advocate. TCG sits on your side of the table, managing the architect, the general contractor, the lender requirements, and the schedule so you do not have to referee a project full of competing interests. We review budgets, scrutinize change orders, track the schedule, and flag problems while they are still cheap to fix.
In Seattle this matters more than in most markets. Seismic Design Category D, marine-climate moisture, prevailing wage labor, and 8 to 20 week SDCI permitting each create room for a project to slip on cost and time. A representative who has actually built in Puget Sound knows where those risks hide. Because TCG is itself a design-build contractor, we read a GC's pay application, schedule, and change order log the way the GC does, which is exactly the perspective an owner needs in the room.
What Does an Owner's Representative Cost in Seattle?
Owner's representative fees are a fraction of the project value they protect, and are typically structured as a percentage of total project cost, a fixed monthly retainer, or a fixed not-to-exceed engagement fee. Smaller projects carry a higher percentage because the workload does not scale down linearly.
| Project Type | Seattle Cost Range |
|---|---|
| Owner's rep, project under $5M | 3 to 5% of project cost |
| Owner's rep, $5M to $20M project | 2 to 3.5% of project cost |
| Owner's rep, $20M and up | 1 to 2.5% of project cost |
| Monthly retainer (typical engagement) | $15,000 to $40,000 per month |
| Fixed not-to-exceed engagement | Project-based |
A capable owner's representative routinely saves multiples of the fee by catching budget, scope, and schedule problems early. Use our AI estimator above to benchmark your project, or schedule a call to scope an engagement.
Why TCG as Your Seattle Owner's Representative
Most owner's reps have never carried a project's risk themselves. TCG has. We build, so we know exactly where a general contractor hides contingency, how a schedule gets padded, and which change orders are legitimate versus manufactured. That builder's perspective is the entire value of hiring us to watch your project instead of a paper-only advisor.
We also run our oversight on the same AI-driven systems we use to deliver our own work, which means faster budget analysis, tighter preconstruction review, and earlier warning when a number drifts. In Seattle specifically, we know SDCI, the union and prevailing wage market, and the seismic and moisture requirements cold, so nothing in a contractor's scope surprises us. One accountable advocate, from preconstruction through closeout.
Seattle Owner's Representative FAQ
Common questions about owner's representative and construction project management in the Puget Sound region. See our full FAQ page for more.
An owner's representative is the owner's independent advocate on a construction project. TCG manages the architect, general contractor, schedule, budget, and lender requirements on the owner's behalf, reviews change orders and pay applications, and flags cost and schedule risks early, so the owner does not have to manage a project full of competing interests.
Fees are typically 3 to 5% of project cost for projects under $5M, 2 to 3.5% for $5M to $20M, and 1 to 2.5% for $20M and up. Many engagements are structured as a monthly retainer in the $15,000 to $40,000 range, or as a fixed not-to-exceed fee. The fee is usually a fraction of what the role saves.
A general contractor builds the project and carries the construction risk. An owner's representative works only for the owner, with no stake in the construction contract, and exists to protect the owner's budget, schedule, and quality. TCG offers both services, but never both on the same project, so the owner's rep role stays fully independent.
Because a builder reads a contractor's schedule, pay application, and change order log the way the contractor does. TCG has carried construction risk on its own projects, so we know where contingency hides, which change orders are legitimate, and how a schedule gets padded. A paper-only advisor often cannot see those things.
Yes. Seismic Design Category D, marine-climate moisture, prevailing wage labor, and 8 to 20 week SDCI permitting each create room for a project to slip on cost or time. A representative who has built in Puget Sound knows where those risks are and manages them before they become change orders.
As early as possible, ideally before design is complete and before a general contractor is selected. The most value comes from involvement during preconstruction, when budget, scope, and contractor selection decisions are still open. TCG can also step into a project already underway to stabilize budget and schedule.
Explore More TCG Seattle Construction
TCG delivers every commercial sector across Puget Sound under one integrated design-build contract.
Put a Builder on Your Side of the Table
TCG represents Seattle owners and developers as an independent owner's representative from concept through closeout. Start with the AI estimator or schedule a call to scope an engagement.
Schedule a Seattle Consultation