Why Municipalities Are Turning to Design-Build Contracting

Municipalities across the United States are facing unprecedented pressure to deliver critical public infrastructure faster, more efficiently, and with greater fiscal responsibility. Aging facilities, deferred maintenance, population growth, climate resilience demands, and limited public funding have forced cities, towns, and counties to rethink how they plan and deliver public infrastructure projects.

As a result, many municipalities are moving away from traditional construction approaches and embracing design-build contracting as a preferred project delivery method. This shift reflects a broader transformation within the design and construction industry, where collaboration, accountability, and speed are becoming essential to successful public-sector outcomes.

This article explores why municipalities are increasingly choosing design-build construction projects, how this delivery method compares to traditional approaches, and what public owners should consider when evaluating design-build for infrastructure initiatives.

The Growing Challenges Facing Municipal Infrastructure Projects

Municipal governments are responsible for a wide range of building projects and infrastructure systems, including:

• City halls and administrative buildings
• Police, fire, and public safety facilities
• Water and wastewater infrastructure
• Streets, utilities, and public works facilities
• Community centers and civic spaces

Delivering these construction projects today is far more complex than in the past. Municipalities must navigate:

• Aging and deteriorating infrastructure
• Tight capital improvement budgets
• Fixed funding timelines and bond cycles
• Heightened public accountability
• Regulatory and permitting complexity
• Workforce and material shortages

Under these conditions, traditional delivery models often struggle to keep pace.

Traditional Project Delivery Methods and Their Limitations

Design-Bid-Build: A Linear Process

For decades, Design-Bid-Build has been the default construction project delivery method for public infrastructure. Under this model:

1. The municipality hires a designer
2. Design is completed in full
3. The project is competitively bid
4. A construction firm is selected
5. Construction begins

While familiar and widely accepted, this sequential approach presents several challenges for modern municipal projects:

• Longer delivery timelines
• Late-stage budget surprises
• Limited contractor input during design
• Higher risk of change orders
• Fragmented accountability

When design and construction are separated, municipalities often bear the burden of coordinating between multiple parties & adding administrative strain and increasing risk.

Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR)

Some municipalities have adopted construction management approaches, such as Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR), to address these challenges. CMAR introduces a construction manager earlier in the design phase and often includes a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP).

While CMAR improves collaboration compared to Design-Bid-Build, it still involves multiple contracts and can leave municipalities managing risk across multiple entities.

What Is Design-Build Contracting?

In design-build contracting, the municipality enters into a single design-build contract with a design-build construction company that provides both design and construction services.

Instead of managing separate designer and contractor relationships, the public owner works with a unified design-build team responsible for delivering the entire project from concept through completion.

This integrated structure has made design-build one of the fastest-growing construction project delivery methods for public infrastructure.

Why Municipalities Are Shifting to Design-Build

1. Faster Project Delivery

Speed is one of the most compelling reasons municipalities choose design-build construction.

Because the design-build process allows design and construction activities to overlap, projects can move forward before design is fully complete. Early site work, permitting, and procurement can begin while design continues.

For municipalities facing urgent infrastructure needs or tight funding deadlines, this time savings can be the difference between success and delay.

2. Early Budget Certainty with Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP)

Municipal budgets are often fixed and subject to public scrutiny. Cost overruns can jeopardize trust and derail capital programs.

Design-build contracting allows municipalities to establish a Guaranteed Maximum Price earlier in the construction process, providing greater cost predictability and financial control.

Early cost modeling by the design-build contractor reflects real market conditions, reducing the risk of bid-day surprises and funding shortfalls.

3. Single Point of Accountability

One of the most significant advantages of design-build is single-source responsibility.

With one contract and one accountable entity, municipalities avoid the finger-pointing that can occur when designers and contractors operate under separate agreements. This simplifies:

• Communication
• Decision-making
• Issue resolution
• Risk management

For public agencies with limited internal construction management resources, this streamlined accountability is invaluable.

4. Reduced Risk and Fewer Change Orders

In traditional delivery methods, design errors or omissions often surface during construction, leading to change orders, delays, and cost increases.

In contrast, design-build teams collaborate throughout the design phase, identifying constructability issues early and resolving them before construction begins. This proactive approach significantly reduces:

• Change orders
• Claims and disputes
• Schedule disruptions

As a result, municipalities experience more predictable project outcomes.

5. Improved Collaboration and Transparency

Design-build fosters a collaborative environment where designers, builders, engineers, and municipal stakeholders work together toward shared goals.

This collaboration improves transparency, encourages innovation, and ensures that infrastructure solutions align with community needs and operational priorities.

Comparing Project Delivery Methods for Municipal Infrastructure

Factor	Design-Bid-Build	CMAR	Design-Build
Delivery Speed	Slowest	Moderate	Fastest
Budget Certainty	Late	Earlier	Early
Contracts	Multiple	Multiple	Single
Risk to Owner	High	Moderate	Lower
Collaboration	Limited	Moderate	High
Change Orders	Common	Reduced	Minimal

Where Design-Build Excels in Municipal Infrastructure

Design-build construction is particularly effective for:

• Public safety facilities (police, fire, emergency operations)
• Water and wastewater infrastructure
• Civic and administrative buildings
• Public works and maintenance facilities
• Adaptive reuse and facility modernization

These projects often involve complex systems, tight schedules, and high public visibility, making integrated delivery especially valuable.

Legislative and Industry Support for Design-Build

Over the past several decades, legislative changes at the state level have expanded municipalities’ ability to use design-build contracting for public infrastructure.

As these procurement frameworks evolved, successful outcomes reinforced confidence in design-build as a viable and often superior project delivery method.

Aligning Design-Build with Municipal Goals

Municipal leaders are increasingly evaluated on their ability to deliver infrastructure projects that are:

• On time
• On budget
• Sustainable
• Resilient
• Responsive to community needs

Design-build supports these goals by aligning design decisions with construction realities and long-term operational considerations.

The Role of Construction Management in Design-Build

While design-build simplifies delivery, strong construction management remains essential. Experienced design-build construction firms bring disciplined planning, scheduling, cost control, and quality assurance to every project.

This expertise ensures that municipal infrastructure projects meet regulatory requirements, safety standards, and long-term performance expectations.

Why Performance Services Supports Design-Build for Municipal Infrastructure

Performance Services specializes in design-build construction projects for municipalities, school districts, and public institutions. By providing integrated design and construction services, Performance Services helps public owners:

• Accelerate project delivery
• Improve budget certainty
• Reduce risk
• Enhance collaboration
• Deliver durable, high-performing infrastructure

With deep experience in public-sector procurement and infrastructure delivery, Performance Services acts as a trusted partner throughout the construction process.

Addressing Common Misconceptions About Design-Build

Some municipalities hesitate to adopt design-build due to misconceptions about reduced owner control or limited competition. In practice, well-structured design-build procurement maintains transparency, encourages competition, and preserves public oversight.

Clear scopes, performance criteria, and evaluation processes ensure municipalities receive high-quality outcomes while benefiting from integrated delivery.

The Future of Municipal Infrastructure Delivery

As infrastructure demands continue to grow and funding constraints tighten, municipalities must adopt delivery methods that maximize efficiency and accountability.

Design-build is no longer an alternative approach; it is becoming a preferred standard for public infrastructure delivery across the country.

By reducing risk, accelerating schedules, and improving collaboration, design-build contracting offers municipalities a proven path to delivering infrastructure that serves communities today and into the future.

Final Thoughts

The shift toward design-build reflects a broader evolution in how municipalities approach public infrastructure. Traditional methods still have a place, but the complexity and urgency of modern infrastructure projects demand more integrated solutions.

For municipalities seeking faster delivery, stronger cost control, and reduced risk, design-build construction projects provide a powerful and proven project delivery method, one that aligns public accountability with private-sector efficiency.