CSU construction-cost comparison workbook
A spreadsheet for turning Board of Trustees binders into cost-per-gross-square-foot comparisons that a resident, a reporter, or a trustee can check. It is a question-finding tool, not a verdict.
Status
Version 0.1: proof-of-concept workbook with one unverified example row.
Projects verified against a Board document: 0. Projects awaiting source-page confirmation: 1 (the example row). Benchmarks logged with a source: 0. Next planned update: November 14, 2026, with the first binder projects from the Committee on Campus Planning, Buildings and Grounds agendas.
To submit a project for review, email tjnorman@gmail.com with the campus, project name, the Board agenda item or binder that states its cost and square footage, and a link. Submissions enter the Source Register as UNVERIFIED until the page is checked.
Read this before using any number from the workbook
A cost-per-square-foot variance against a benchmark is not proof of overpayment. Site conditions, seismic requirements, prevailing wage, escalation, program mix, delivery method, and the year of the estimate all move the number. The workbook exists to decide which projects deserve a records request. It does not establish that money was wasted, and no page on this site will say so without the change-order record and the final cost in hand.
What the workbook contains
| Tab | What it holds | Where the numbers come from |
|---|---|---|
| Summary | Possible cost variance for each project: project $/GSF, benchmark $/GSF, variance per GSF, variance percent, GSF used and its basis, and the possible variance in dollars. | Formulas only. Nothing is typed on this tab. |
| Projects | One row per CSU project: campus, name, building type, reported total cost, reported GSF, reported $/GSF, estimate year, and a label (REPORTED, IMPLIED, ESTIMATE, UNVERIFIED). | Board of Trustees agenda items and Capital Outlay binders, each tied to a Source ID. |
| Benchmarks | Benchmark averages by building type with year, region, and the escalation factor, plus the formulas written out. | Published cost indexes and CSU's own benchmark statements, each with a Source ID. |
| Implied GSF | When a document gives total cost and $/GSF but not square footage, implied GSF is total cost divided by $/GSF. It is labeled implied, never reported. | Computed from the Projects tab. |
| Change Orders | Count, total, and percent of original contract. | Left blank, and labeled UNVERIFIED, until the change-order log or Board report has been read. |
| Source Register | Every official CSU document used: title, issuing body, date, agenda item, page, URL, what it establishes, what it does not. | A row with no Source ID is not evidence. |
The formulas
| Measure | Formula |
|---|---|
| Variance per GSF | Project $/GSF − Benchmark $/GSF |
| Variance percent | Variance per GSF ÷ Benchmark $/GSF |
| Possible variance ($) | Variance per GSF × GSF used (reported GSF when the document gives one; otherwise implied GSF) |
| Implied GSF | Reported total project cost ÷ Reported $/GSF |
| Escalated benchmark | Benchmark $/GSF × (1 + annual factor)(project year − benchmark year), with the factor recorded in the Benchmarks notes |
A worked example
The workbook ships with one example row so the formulas can be tested. It is labeled ESTIMATE because it comes from the author's working notes and the binder source has not yet been logged in the Source Register. It is not a confirmed finding and should not be quoted as one. A reported variance of $44.33 per gross square foot, applied to an implied GSF of about 59,550, gives a possible variance of about $2.64 million.
Read that sentence carefully. It says possible variance and implied square footage. The evidence suggests a project worth a records request. The record does not yet establish that the project cost more than it should have.
What would turn a variance into a finding
- The project's final cost and GSF as reported to the Board at close-out, not the estimate at approval.
- The change-order log, with the reasons given for each order.
- A benchmark of the same building type, region, and year, with its own source.
- An explanation from the campus or the Chancellor's Office of the drivers that differ from the benchmark.
- Only then, a labeled conclusion: the document shows, the evidence suggests, or the record does not establish.
Can a resident answer, in five minutes and from public records, what this building cost per square foot, how that compares to a stated benchmark, and who is accountable for the difference?
Source register, version 0.1
- Status
- The workbook's Source Register holds one example row pointing at the Board of Trustees past-meetings archive. Project rows will be added one binder at a time, each with its agenda item and page, and this page will list them as they are verified.
- Starting points
- CSU Board of Trustees, past meetings and agendas; Committee on Campus Planning, Buildings and Grounds items; Capital Outlay program binders.