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I have an opportunity to purchase a building in my home that was built in 1925 that has a movie theater, two storefronts, and four 1 bedroom apartments.10yrs ago there was an attempt to renovate the building... he renovated the apartments and gutted out the theater, but never finished. The city now owns the building and are interested in my plan. My goal is to convert one of the storefronts into the restaurant and convert the 600 seat theater into an art deco style movie theater/restaurant. I am wondering what a rough estimate would be for an architect to design that.

Thank you....

Many architects work on a per cent of project cost...typically 8 to 10 per cent. In Maine I would guess a project such as this would cost 10000 to maybe 25000 to design depending on the competence of your general contractor. The more skilled you are at building projects the less you will have to depend on a complete set of prints in order to complete the restoration. Keep in mind that if you get into real structural issues then all bets are off. Also as this is an old building be prepared for the unexpected....I would allow at least a 20 per cent cost over run to any budget that you prepare.....good luck!