Is the model able to handle construction that takes place after years of continuing leasing. In other words, how to include existing leases before construction, so you have operation before development and then again after development?
Yes, this is possible. On the Summary tab, you’ll notice a “Operation Begin” date. Just set this date equal to the Analysis Start date and operations will occur concurrent with construction.
With that said, there are some limitations the model presents for this scenario. The first is, modeling downtime during construction will require some finessing. If you expect downtime during construction, you will likely have to apply a manual (custom coded) vacancy assumption to those periods. This can be done in the monthly cash flow section of the OpSt tab. My recommendation would be, if you change the default formula to color the font red to remind you which cells were changed.
Another limitation has to do with financing. By default, when the development module is turned on a construction loan begins funding at analysis start (see Sources and Uses tab for construction financing assumptions). That construction loan is then taken out by a permanent loan (see Perm. Debt tab) at stabilization (per date set on Summary tab). So if you intend to fund acquisition with a permanent loan, and then rely on additional financing for the construction period, you’ll have to customize the debt. Without knowing too much about your situation, one work around for this would be to set the stabilization date equal to analysis start (i.e. no construction debt), and then customize the secondary permanent debt (Perm. Debt tab) to handle your construction financing needs.
