Insights + Solutions from BISNOW Boston’s Multifamily Conference

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James, VJ and Tammi posing behind booth at BISNOW event

TOCCI was a proud sponsor at the BISNOW Boston Multifamily Conference on June 27th. 

At our booth, the TOCCI team talked about Project Rescue and Prefix DfMA, and the work we are doing to optimize and drive projects forward!

“Let’s get these shovels in the ground!” proclaimed Boston Mayor, Michelle Wu at BisNow’s Boston Multifamily Conference. As the keynote speaker, she took the stage to address the top 3 items on her agenda – housing, housing, and housing. 

From prioritizing city-owned land for redevelopment and revitalization to identifying critically owned assets and neighborhoods primed for redevelopment to simplifying the approval process to ensure buildings get built, the message was clear: working together is the key to construction.   

But the question is – how do we do that? Deal fatigue is real. With sticky construction pricing, lenders observing quantitative tightening, and equity partners chasing risk-adjusted yields  how to we reduce costs and maintain design integrity? That’s where Project Rescue comes in…

Project Rescue addresses the hurdles posed by high-interest rates and inflation in the Commercial Real Estate (CRE) sector. Recognizing that subcontractor pricing, borrowing costs, and supply chain disruptions jeopardize the financeability of projects, we developed Project Rescue to tackle what we can control: hard costs. 

Controlling costs and increasing design and construction efficiency has never been as critical as it is now.

We believe 3 major elements make Project Rescue successful:

Early involvement: This is more than just “precon”. It is evaluating construction manager and subcontractor contributions at the earliest stage of design deliverables and analyzes design documents at every stage to enhance design efficiency.

Exploration/Evaluation of Design for Manufacturing + Assembly (DfMA): Driving schedules forward using prefabrication capabilities to decrease labor costs and optimize MEP/FP integration.

Next Level Procurement: Urging the entities that supply and manufacture the products to provide input on design suggestions in response to real market and product conditions.

Each of these elements capitalizes on something that TOCCI is a recognized industry leader in:

Integrated Project Delivery: TOCCI completed the first IPD project in the Northeast. We understand the importance of inclusion for all significant partners (owners, architects, engineers, construction managers, and trade partners) in a united and binding commitment to each other and the project. Sharing risk and reward. 

Modular + Industrialized Construction: TOCCI has been a leader in Modular construction for over 20 years. Modular design requires deep forethought and collaboration for seamless flow. Make Smooth. Make Precise. Make Simple. Make Daily. Make Smart. Make Safe.

Building Information Modeling (BIM) + Advanced Design Coordination: We are consistently working to optimize and control our workflows. Engaging TOCCI’s VDC team results in more coordinated bid documents, reduces future change orders, and optimizes construction scheduling and sequencing.


Prioritizing early involvement and collaboration from the very beginning is the cornerstone of Project Rescue. Going beyond typical preconstruction and working as one team with designers and owners to take on the challenges of design and producing optimized solutions to bring down hard costs. Project Rescue offers real value-enhancing ideas that do not detract from the finished design standards. On a recent $170 Million Development, TOCCI developed more than 260 ideas worth $9.4 million. The TOCCI team co-located with the Architect and Engineer to implement these ideas during design and then doubled these savings while executing the buyout phase.

Prefix DfMA coordinated and optimized the MEP/FP design on this project. Our unique partnership with the Prefix team combines the benefits of Virtual Design Construction (VDC) with fabrication, engineering, and on-site expertise. Prefix proposes alternatives to maximize prefabrication, reimagine routing of risers and trunk + branch lines, increase labor productivity on site, and minimize work with higher safety hazards.  

Possessing a unique skill set and background, Prefix is a nimble team that immediately addresses and enhances MEP/FP. By the time they are finished, the design has been optimized prior to trade partner pricing and is already prepared for manufacturing.

All combined, we are recognizing upwards of 15% of project savings over an already competitive price point.