First Cost: Why the Build Price Is Only the Start

First cost is the initial cost of designing, building and equipping a facility, before it opens and starts incurring operating and maintenance costs.

First cost is what it takes to design and build a facility. Over its life, operating, maintenance and repair costs usually add up to more. Comparing options by life-cycle cost, not first cost alone, changes many decisions.

It is the number that drives most budget decisions, because it has to be financed up front. For a parking structure meant to last 50 years or more, though, the money spent after opening on maintenance, repairs, energy and staff usually exceeds the first cost. Comparing options on life-cycle cost puts both in the same frame.

Where first cost and long-term cost pull apart

Durability. Better concrete, sealers and membranes cost more now and less later. See chloride-ion contamination.
Lighting. LED fixtures and controls cost more than older lamps but use far less energy. See adaptive lighting.
Technology. Cheaper equipment can carry higher support and replacement costs.
Flexibility. Flat floors and taller ceilings add cost but keep adaptive reuse possible.

The Parkonomics view

First cost is real money and it deserves scrutiny. But a garage that saved a million dollars on opening day and spends three million on repairs twenty years later was not a bargain.