Having a business site lease is an exciting milestone—but turning that site into a finished building requires much more than a construction budget. Whether you’re dreaming about your first commercial building, expanding an existing business, or preparing to develop a site on the Navajo Nation, there’s a lot to consider before construction begins.

Join Change Labs for a practical conversation with experienced Native professionals, Joseph Kunkel and Stanford Lake, who have designed and built commercial projects on the Navajo Nation and throughout the region. We’ll explore what business owners need to think about before construction begins, including site planning, engineering, utilities, permitting, materials, labor, transportation, design, construction timelines, and the many costs that can be easy to overlook when developing an initial project budget.

You’ll come away with a better understanding of the questions to ask, the professionals you may need on your team, the resources you’ll need to line up, and how to think realistically about the time and investment required to get from a business site to a finished building.

Change Labs Executive Director Heather Fleming will moderate the conversation and share lessons from Change Labs’ own experience developing its E-ship Hubs on the Navajo Nation, including what we wish we had known when we started.

This is a free virtual event, open to the public!