SOFT STORY SEISMIC RETROFIT BUSINESS PLAN

I. Executive Summary

Company Description

The firm is a specialized construction and structural engineering company launching in 2026, focused exclusively on seismic retrofitting of soft-story residential and mixed-use buildings in high-risk U.S. earthquake zones. We pair licensed structural engineers with construction management teams and operate from a dedicated fabrication shop and office to deliver turnkey, code-compliant structural reinforcement. Our core services are structural assessment, engineered retrofit design, prefabricated connector and shear-wall fabrication, and end-to-end construction management—offering faster schedules, tighter quality control, and single-source accountability.

We target multi-unit property owners and small portfolio managers required to meet mandatory seismic-ordinance deadlines in urban coastal regions. Short-term goals are to begin operations in 2026, complete initial retrofit projects to validate cost and schedule benchmarks, and establish municipal approvals workflows. Long-term goals are to standardize prefab solutions, scale regionally, and become the go-to retrofit contractor that measurably lowers structural risk and saves lives.

Problem

Thousands of multi-story U.S. buildings in seismic zones have unreinforced ground-floor openings—known as soft story—that carry a high probability of total collapse in a significant earthquake. Owners face imminent regulatory deadlines requiring structural retrofits; noncompliance risks municipal fines, denial of insurance coverage, and large civil liability. The market lacks enough specialized structural-engineering and construction capacity to complete required retrofits before deadlines, creating a clear capacity gap and timing risk for owners.

Many owners must retrofit now or face financial and legal ruin.

Solution

Thousands of multi-story buildings in California and Washington have vulnerable "soft story" ground floors that risk collapse and face mandatory retrofit ordinances. We provide a end-to-end seismic retrofit service that closes this liability gap by delivering structural assessments, custom steel moment-frame and shear-wall designs, permit navigation, construction by skilled crews, tenant-disruption minimization, and final city sign-off with safety certifications. One-liner: We turn vulnerable ground floors into code-compliant, certified structures with turnkey engineering, permitting, and construction.

Mission Statement

Our mission is to safeguard lives and secure property investments by delivering the highest-quality seismic retrofitting services across the United States. We commit to technical excellence, strict regulatory compliance, and minimizing disruption for the communities we serve. Through specialized engineering and efficient project management, we aim to be the most trusted partner for property owners facing earthquake safety mandates, building a more resilient urban environment one building at a time.

Key Success Factors

Our edge comes from specialized operations, municipal partnerships, turnkey delivery, skilled crews, and targeted marketing.

• Specialized soft-story focus — higher operational efficiency and technical expertise than generalist competitors.
• Municipal relationships — streamlined permitting through established contacts with building departments.
• Turnkey service model — single point of accountability for design, permitting, and construction.
• Skilled engineering and field team — engineers and foremen ensure retrofit work meets safety standards.
• Data-driven marketing — steady project pipeline sourced from non-compliant building lists.

Financial Summary

Compact financial snapshot for investors: strong early cash generation and scalable profitability.

Financial requirements: minimum cash $1,056,000 (Feb-26). Performance metrics: breakeven Feb-26 (2 months), payback 10 months, IRR 18.64%, ROE 13.97%.

Overall outlook: profitable, high-demand safety services driving fast payback and sustained margin expansion.

Funding Requirements

The business requires a one-time funding injection to launch in Jan–Feb 2026 and reach break-even by Feb 2026.

Year 1 revenue is projected at $2,685,000, scaling to $8,740,000 by Year 5; EBITDA is forecast at $966,000 in 2026 and $4,654,000 by 2030, with a 2-month break-even, 10-month payback, IRR 18.64%, and ROE 13.97%.