Daniel Pourbaba

A lot of developer friends ask how we design and build beautiful buildings with budgets that beat far less attractive projects. There are many levers. But most deals quietly die in one place: Structure. Here are some pro tips, particularly for multifamily podium design: Column grid Keep it tight: 24–28 ft max. Go wider and you trigger thicker PT slabs, drop panels, punching shear steel, and endless MEP conflicts. The last one might be the most painful, but the first two are the most expensive. Load path Never shift columns between floors. Transfers = heavier structure, more rebar, slower schedules, real money burned. Don’t approve a schematic design layout before this is flushed out. Slabs & soils Bad soils force thicker slabs, mats, piles. Foundation costs can jump 2–3×. Choose sites carefully. Get good soils. Expansive soils? We’re out. MEPs Stack wet walls. Have dedicated plumbing walls with no structural value. Lock sleeves early. Another killer: Bathrooms over columns or even electrical rooms. Late MEP coordination are how “on-budget” jobs blow up in the field. Shear & hold-downs Maintain continuous exterior wall zones (~12–16”) from podium to roof. Clean load paths = less steel, simpler inspections, better seismic performance. Wood framing Align shear walls with column grids. Misalignment adds transfer forces and structural weight you don’t get paid for. Again, don’t even go past schematic phase until this is sorted out. Only exception. Facade area. Cost effective constructions isn’t about cheap finishes. They’re about disciplined structure, driven by architectural design logic. Get this right, you’re half way there. Get it wrong, no amount of value engineering will save you.

@shaunmmaguire Baruch hashem

I think this is the best day of my life

@GavinNewsom Truly grotesque

Americans are struggling to pay for groceries and gas while Elon Musk becomes a TRILLIONAIRE. When the federal government is for sale, the rich get richer and everyone else gets shafted. The system is rigged.

@ChrisSpoke 😂

Rendering vs Reality. Delivered under $300/ft on rentable. 4 levels of resi over parking with floor to glass glazing and stylish interiors. I think reality beat the render!

@bobbyfijan Thanks @bobbyfijan !

Gorgeous project

@seandsweeney Thanks brother !

@moseskagan 🤓🙏🏽

~Infinitely better than the standard LA new construction apartment building Kudos

@alexmartin_55 🙏🏽🙏🏽

@DPOURBABA Dude. Wow. This is incredible

@jamesonhaslam I’m doing everything I can to build up my big deck energy. Always in pursuit

@DPOURBABA Sometimes I think I’m good at my job and then I see your posts and just

@aqualover420 How about something like this?

>gigantic mostly blank eyesore development >crowing announcement that is clearly unedited AI spew Everything about this sucks

@otter401 🙏🏽🙏🏽

@DPOURBABA That's an incredible hard cost Daniel. Well done!

84 affordable housing units. Seven floors. Delivered under $165,000 per unit in Los Angeles! A developer friend came to us looking for a new general contractor to partner with on his workforce housing project. The brief was simple: deliver real quality at a cost that actually pencils. We did — bringing all 84 units in at a hard cost under $165k each, well below market for a project of this kind (5 levels of Type III over 2 levels of Type I). That’s the role our GC arm, Category Construction, plays. We partner with a select group of developers serious about affordable and workforce housing, and we treat their budgets and timelines like our own. As a vertically integrated platform, we bring construction with in-house trade execution, design, and an owner-operator’s perspective to every project — so the numbers work in the field, not just on paper. Feel free to give me a shout if you have a project seeking a killer GC partner that can get the job done. ✅

@TomSteyer $200mm 🚽

@CohenSite Not sure we were not the developer here

@DPOURBABA A very specific question about this project: Why the switch from open circulation to conditioned circulation? Was this driven by an LADBS code/interpretation change? I would assume that open would be cheaper?

@JohnGonzalesLA1 Yes

@DPOURBABA What is accounted for in the $165k per unit? Total hard costs for the building,including common area, and all contractor’s fees? Very low for L.A. in that construction type.

@CohenSite @seandsweeney Correct

@seandsweeney @DPOURBABA It has windows on both sides. That’s just the stair shaft

@danielmwarwick NO!

@DPOURBABA Literally how is this possible? Is each unit 200sf?

@tovihomie Dope

BUILDING PERMIT OBTAINED 4/8/26. Under construction by Q4 2026. 2859 Francis Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90005. 232 units. 8 stories. Neo-Georgian.

@Seanfrank lol don’t believe everything you read on the internet

This is the Flats in Beverly Hills. For 50+ years it was the most desirable neighborhood on earth. Not just in LA, on earth. Now, 20% of the houses are for sale. Everyone is selling, no one is buying. This is what it looks like when a state loses its tax base.

@Elex_Michaelson @XavierBecerra You’re doing a great job with these questions @Elex_Michaelson

I point out to @XavierBecerra that CA has the nation's highest poverty rate, gas prices, housing costs & most homeless people. "Are Democrats in charge of this state doing a good job?" "We could do better, no doubt. But we are the 4th largest economy in the world." Is there a specific policy change he'd make as Governor? "We'll get things done..." He says he'll "build more housing." More: youtube.com/watch?v=VJgaS6…