Cost Estimation

What it does

When your agent uses it

• The user asks about project cost
• Construction cost
• Infrastructure budget
• Development feasibility

Example prompts

• “/cost-estimation”

Requirements

• Python 3

Workflow steps

8 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

1. 1Building Construction Cost
2. 2Infrastructure Costs
3. 3Soft Costs
4. 4Total Development Cost Assembly
5. 5Revenue and Feasibility
6. 6Phased Development Costing
7. 7Cost Benchmarks from Exemplar Projects
8. 8Cost Estimation Calculator

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 666327b. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

• Tool permissions

  Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

  From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

• Runs code

  Ships 1 file in scripts/ (Python), which the agent can run.

  Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

  • python

  From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

• Network

  No URLs in SKILL.md.

  From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

• Credentials

  Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

  From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Cost Estimation loads about 5k tokens when it runs, and up to ~12k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 196 tokens; SKILL.md has 1,832 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it

~196

When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches

~5k

With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them

~12k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); the scripts in this folder are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from Abhinavbwj/Urban-Design-Skills-Claude at commit 666327b, republished under its MIT licence (© Abhinavbwj). 1,832 words, ~5,014 tokens.

name

cost-estimation

description

Estimate construction costs, infrastructure costs, soft costs, and total development costs for urban design projects. Covers building construction cost per m2 by typology, infrastructure cost per linear meter and per dwelling, site preparation, landscaping, professional fees, and financial feasibility analysis. Use when the user asks about project cost, construction cost, infrastructure budget, development feasibility, cost per unit, cost per m2, capital expenditure, opex, cost benchmarking, value engineering, phasing costs, or any question about how much an urban design project or its components will cost. Also use for preliminary budget estimation, order-of- magnitude costing, cost comparison between design alternatives, or cost optimization of masterplans.

1. Land Acquisition
   + Stamp duty / transfer taxes (1-5%)
   + Legal and due diligence (0.5-1%)

2. Site Preparation
   + Demolition (if brownfield)
   + Remediation (if contaminated)
   + Earthworks and grading
   + Temporary works and site setup (2-5% of construction)

3. Infrastructure
   + Roads and streets
   + Utilities (water, sewer, storm, power, telecom)
   + Open space and landscaping
   + Transit infrastructure (if applicable)

4. Building Construction
   + Substructure (foundations)
   + Superstructure (frame, envelope)
   + MEP (mechanical, electrical, plumbing)
   + Finishes and fit-out

5. Soft Costs
   + Professional fees (15-25% of construction)
   + Permitting and approvals
   + Marketing and sales
   + Legal and insurance

6. Finance Costs
   + Construction loan interest
   + Arrangement fees

7. Developer Margin
   + Profit target: 15-20% on cost (residential)
   + Profit target: 15-25% on cost (commercial/speculative)

8. Contingency
   + As per project stage (Section 3.3)

Total Development Cost (excl. land) =
  Building Construction Cost
  x 1.15-1.25 (infrastructure and external works, 15-25% of building cost)
  x 1.18-1.25 (professional fees and soft costs)
  x 1.05-1.10 (finance costs)
  x 1.10-1.25 (contingency)

Simplified: Building Cost x 1.55-2.00 = Total Development Cost (excl. land)

Example:
  50,000 m2 mixed-use at $2,000/m2 building cost = $100M building
  Total development cost = $100M x 1.75 = $175M (excl. land)

Residual Land Value = Total Revenue - Total Development Cost (excl. land)
                    - Developer Profit

If Residual Land Value > Land Acquisition Cost → Feasible
If Residual Land Value < Land Acquisition Cost → Not feasible at this program

Profit on Cost = (Total Revenue - Total Cost including land) / Total Cost
Target: > 15% for residential, > 20% for commercial

Yield on Cost = Net Operating Income (Year 1) / Total Development Cost
Target: 1-2% above prevailing cap rate

Infrastructure Cost / Total Development Cost

Healthy: < 15%
Watchpoint: 15-25%
Red flag: > 25% (infrastructure-heavy; consider increasing density)

python scripts/cost_estimator.py \
  --residential-gfa 50000 --residential-spec medium \
  --office-gfa 15000 --office-spec high \
  --retail-gfa 5000 --retail-spec medium \
  --parking-spaces 400 --parking-type structured \
  --infrastructure-roads 2000 --infrastructure-utilities 3000 \
  --region gulf --contingency 0.20

© Abhinavbwj, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 4 other files (scripts, references) in skills/cost-estimation of Abhinavbwj/Urban-Design-Skills-Claude.

• SKILL.md
• references/construction-costs.md
• references/feasibility-analysis.md
• references/infrastructure-costs.md
• scripts/cost_estimator.py

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 666327b

Used in 1 other repository

We found 1 copy of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders, from 1 other GitHub owner. This page covers the copy in Abhinavbwj/Urban-Design-Skills-Claude, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.

• NeverSight/learn-skills.devdata/skills-md/abhinavbwj/urban-design-skills-claude/cost-estimation