Wow! What a great opportunity - and challenge! Much fun lies ahead.
As far as benchwork goes, please take a look at Mianne Benchwork ( www.miannebenchwork.com ). They offer some interesting takes on building your layout without going the "2'x4" route.
I've built four major layouts over the past xx years - each one of them sticks and boards ... but, for the present layout I'm now just beginning, I'm using the Mianne system. For me (always with spaces <15'x12'), track plans flow from the space available after deciding on how the benchwork fits in the (relatively) limited space.
Have fun!
