To stay competitive in the fast-paced budget-constrained multi-family sector, AC Martin continuously seeks tools that improve efficiency and accelerate project timelines—particularly when it comes to site feasibility studies.
Before implementing TestFit, AC Martin’s feasibility studies were done using traditional methods in Revit, SketchUp, Rhino3D, or AutoCAD, starting with a blank slate and manually drawing the site plans each time. These processes were time-consuming, especially when creating quick yield studies for potential development sites to support their clients in their due diligence phases.
Real-Time Collaboration in 1-Hour Client Calls
Drawing on his prior experience with TestFit, Sami Khoury, Principal at AC Martin, immediately recognized its potential to revolutionize the yield study process for multi-family projects when he first joined the firm.
He began using TestFit for real-time collaboration and rapid iteration during initial client calls. Instead of just taking notes for later analysis, Sami inputs data directly into TestFit during the conversation—such as target unit counts, mix percentages, and site-specific requirements— and customizes a unit library while assembling multiple schemes on the spot.
This approach transformed initial client calls from passive information-gathering sessions into interactive brainstorming meetings, where participants actively compare feasibility options in real-time 3D. While the floor plans and 3D massing generate and animate, clients can see project metrics dynamically update, creating an engaging experience that feels as responsive as watching a stock ticker.
Within 15–20 minutes, he could generate initial schemes that reflect their client’s needs, showcasing potential layouts and various product types such as high-density podiums, wraps, and garden style, or low-density townhomes or walk-ups. This live, dynamic approach not only saves hours of non-billable time but also helps attract their developer clients to come back for more feasibility studies.
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4x Multi-Family Schemes
The process of conducting multi-family feasibility studies at AC Martin was traditionally labor-intensive. Their feasibility studies were often simple, line drawings, typically with a building "chassis" and parking layouts, based on zoning codes, accompanied by an excel spreadsheet tabulating project metrics.
However, the time spent manually creating these drawings, performing the necessary math, and entering data into spreadsheets often led to extended turnaround time, and had some inherent inefficiencies and delays. On average, the process for a single site might only get 2 or 3 schemes done in a week.
With TestFit, the team can automate much of the manual work, allowing them to 4x the number of schemes they can create for each feasibility study, allowing the team to find the best option for their clients.
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This process naturally aligns with a “generate, then edit” philosophy. Sami has been guiding AC Martin’s designers to leverage TestFit’s automated generative tools to quickly produce multiple initial options. These options are then refined through manual iteration to incorporate zoning constraints, AC Martin’s best practices, and client feedback, ultimately honing in on the most viable schemes. By front-loading the design process with rapid prototyping, AC Martin has reduced decision-making timelines from weeks to days—or even hours—while delivering clear, actionable insights tailored to each client’s unique goals.
This ability to provide more iterations gives AC Martin a competitive edge by:
- Exploring a broader range of options to find the best-tailored option that meets their clients’ needs.
- Providing more design options in their proposals to build more trust and win more work with their clients.
6x Faster Feasibility with Better Collaboration
By using TestFit, AC Martin was able to perform real estate feasibility studies6x faster, improving decision-making and accelerating the design process. Instead of focusing on detailed design that takes weeks, they can get a quick understanding of the site layout like finding the most efficient parking lot layout, or density like the volume of residential vs parking on a site. So, their clients can input these numbers in their pro forma to make investment decisions faster.
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The transition to TestFit also fostered greater collaboration between teams. While traditionally, yield studies might require multiple people to work through the process, TestFit allows 1 person to complete the task much more efficiently. This frees up architects and designers to focus on more creative and design tasks rather than getting bogged down in drafting, 3D modeling site context and massing studies, calculating areas or counting units and parking stalls.
Creating Winning Visuals from TestFit
As a forward-thinking firm, AC Martin has also taken their use of TestFit a step further by integrating AI tools like Midjourney and Stable Diffusion, transforming TestFit models into polished marketing visuals that showcase a variety of imaginative possibilities. This allows some of their clients to provide compelling renderings for investor pitches and joint venture committees, securing vital funding for projects at a fraction of the traditional cost.
By combining TestFit’s optimization with other AI visualization tools, the firm delivers both efficient site planning and compelling visual presentations, helping them win more work and exceed client expectations.
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TestFit for Multi-Family
AC Martin continues to rely on TestFit as a core tool in its multi-family development process. Using TestFit in just a simple client call has provided them a competitive edge to win more work in the future. As the firm grows, Sami sees TestFit as an essential tool that will be used in other sectors such as industrial, hospitality, commercial office, higher ed, and life science over time.
