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About Us

Donald R. Barnes, PE

Donald is a field-tested & well-respected leader in the real estate development industry with unparalleled knowledge of design principles, entitlement processes & construction practices. He has overseen the development & construction of commercial centers & residential master plans across the Eastern United States & Texas, which have included golf courses, wastewater treatment plants, regional pumping stations, environmental & soils remediation, threatened species relocations & navigable waterway creations.

He has spent the previous 30+ years in the engineering & development industries having spent 6 years in civil engineering design, 4 years in commercial & multifamily development & the last 20+ years in residential development. During this time, his duties included the hiring, management, supervision, & training of internal staff along with giving direct oversite & guidance to land planners, engineers, attorneys, & contractors during the land acquisition, permitting & design/build processes of luxury home communities & golf courses throughout the southeastern United States.

In 2021, Donald founded BFT Development in order to leverage 30+ years of corporate training, experience, and leadership into a more nimble and forward thinking enterprise where he is able to respond to the needs of his development partners efficiently & effectively.

He holds a Professional Engineering License in FL, NC, SC, GA & MI, a General Contracting License in FL and a Broker's Associate License in FL and has taught masters level real estate development courses at Rutgers University. Mr. Barnes has served on Palm Beach County's Land Development Regulation Advisory Board since 2020 and has served on the board of directors of several charities. Donald received a BS in Civil Engineering from North Carolina State University and has been a contributor to Invest Palm Beach Magazine.

Goals

Predictability: Deliver community entitlements & infrastructure on time & on budget.

Savings: Deliver superior approved or improved lots for less through value engineering, competitive bidding, & artful negotiation.

Geographic Diversity/Solid Multi-Market Management

In-depth understanding of local, regional, state, & national entitlement & construction nuances.

A systematic approach allows complex projects to be planned into manageable phases.

Full Service Entitlement & Land Development

Full due diligence

Entitlements to complete shovel-ready permitting

Estimating/Bidding/Contracting

Construction design oversight & value engineering

Contract negotiation & administration

Feild construction supervision through project closeout

SWPPP management

HOA transition

Bond exoneration

Value Added

In-depth entitlement support

We speak the language & understand the process

We provide real value engineering/cost reduction through:

Detailed review from a builder's perspective of plans, calculations & permits to make sure we only do what is needed

Every dollar reduced from site improvement costs is added to the value of the land

Detailed critical path scheduling: approvals & construction (we drive the consultants & contractors)

Bidding/Contracting (detailed bid analysis & contract negotiations)

Construction Management (onsite experts ensuring smooth contruction)

Bond exoneration, HOA/municipal turnover, permit closeout (start to finish)

More than full construction services at below market rate costs

Experience: Specialty Construction

Lot premium maximization by designing projects to fit homes that people want to live in

We solve challenging issues by drawing on our years of expirience. This allows us to take on difficult but profitable projects that other developers would avoid like:

Marine construction (lakes, piles, bulkheads, docks, dredgings)

Geotechnical conditions (rock, expansive clays, karst, wet soils, sands & muck)

Water/Sewer treatment plants, tanks, pumps, & lift stations

Golf courses

Bridges & culverts

Environmental remediation (arsenic, lead, dieldrin, hydrocarbons, gas & oil well abandonment)

Urban projects

Waterway creation

Wetland creation/mitigation/avoidance

Endangered/protected species