diff --git a/Documentation/ArcadeSdk.md b/Documentation/ArcadeSdk.md
index bec73caa392..4e86f9611b2 100644
--- a/Documentation/ArcadeSdk.md
+++ b/Documentation/ArcadeSdk.md
@@ -219,7 +219,31 @@ optimizations by setting 'RestoreUsingNuGetTargets' to false.
 </Project>
 ```
 
-CoreFx does not use the default build projects in its repo - [example](https://github.com/dotnet/corefx/blob/66392f577c7852092f668876822b6385bcafbd44/eng/Build.props).
+#### Example: batching projects together for more complex build ordering
+
+Arcade builds all passed-in projects in parallel by default. While it's possible to set the `BuildInParallel` property or item metadata, more complex build order requirements might be necessary. When projects should be built in batches, the `BuildStep` item metadata can be used to express that.
+
+Below, the build order is the following: `native1 -> native2 -> java & managed (parallel) -> installer1 & installer2 (parallel) -> cleanup -> optimization.
+```xml
+<!-- eng/Build.props -->
+<Project>
+  <PropertyGroup>
+    <RestoreUsingNuGetTargets>false</RestoreUsingNuGetTargets>
+  </PropertyGroup>
+  <ItemGroup>
+    <ProjectToBuild Include="src\native1.proj" BuildStep="native" BuildInParallel="false" />
+    <ProjectToBuild Include="src\native2.proj" BuildStep="native" BuildInParallel="false" />
+    <ProjectToBuild Include="src\java.proj" BuildStep="managed" />
+    <ProjectToBuild Include="src\managed.proj" BuildStep="managed" />
+    <ProjectToBuild Include="src\installer1.proj" BuildStep="installers" />
+    <ProjectToBuild Include="src\installer2.proj" BuildStep="installers" />
+    <ProjectToBuild Include="src\cleanup.proj" BuildStep="finish" BuildInParallel="false" />
+    <ProjectToBuild Include="src\optimization.proj" BuildStep="finish" BuildInParallel="false" />
+  </ItemGroup>
+</Project>
+```
+
+Runtime does not use the default build projects in its repo - [example](https://github.com/dotnet/runtime/blob/1e6311a9795556149b5a051c5f5b2159d5a9765c/eng/Build.props#L7).
 
 ### /eng/Versions.props: A single file listing component versions and used tools
 
diff --git a/src/Microsoft.DotNet.Arcade.Sdk/tools/Build.proj b/src/Microsoft.DotNet.Arcade.Sdk/tools/Build.proj
index 0afae858aa8..9ba58ad8f1f 100644
--- a/src/Microsoft.DotNet.Arcade.Sdk/tools/Build.proj
+++ b/src/Microsoft.DotNet.Arcade.Sdk/tools/Build.proj
@@ -16,8 +16,8 @@
     DotNetBuildPass                 While building the repo as part of the entire .NET stack, this parameter specifies which build pass the current build is part of.
     DotNetBuildSourceOnly           Build the repo as part of the entire .NET stack with no external dependencies.
     DotNetPublishUsingPipelines     Publish assets to Build Asset Registry.
-    DotNetSymbolServerTokenMsdl     Personal access token for MSDL symbol server. Available from variable group DotNet-Symbol-Server-Pats.	
-    DotNetSymbolServerTokenSymWeb   Personal access token for SymWeb symbol server. Available from variable group DotNet-Symbol-Server-Pats.	
+    DotNetSymbolServerTokenMsdl     Personal access token for MSDL symbol server. Available from variable group DotNet-Symbol-Server-Pats.
+    DotNetSymbolServerTokenSymWeb   Personal access token for SymWeb symbol server. Available from variable group DotNet-Symbol-Server-Pats.
     DotNetSymbolExpirationInDays    Symbol expiration time in days (defaults to 10 years).
     DotNetSignType                  Specifies the signing type: 'real' (default), 'test'.
     DotNetRuntimeSourceFeed         Storage account to lookup for the .Net runtime files
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@
 
   <ItemDefinitionGroup>
     <ProjectToBuild>
+      <BuildStep>1</BuildStep>
       <RestoreInParallel>true</RestoreInParallel>
       <BuildInParallel>true</BuildInParallel>
       <DotNetBuildPass>1</DotNetBuildPass>
@@ -93,28 +94,7 @@
     <ProjectToBuild Include="$(RepoRoot)*.sln" />
   </ItemGroup>
 
-  <Target Name="Execute">
-    <Error Text="No projects were found to build. Either the 'Projects' property or 'ProjectToBuild' item group must be specified." Condition="'@(ProjectToBuild)' == ''"/>
-    <Error Text="Property 'RepoRoot' must be specified" Condition="'$(RepoRoot)' == ''"/>
-    <Error Text="File 'global.json' must exist in directory specified by RepoRoot: '$(RepoRoot)'" Condition="'$(RepoRoot)' != '' and !Exists('$(RepoRoot)global.json')"/>
-
-    <PropertyGroup>
-      <!-- 'IsRunningFromVisualStudio' may be true even when running msbuild.exe from command line. This generally means that MSBuild is from a Visual Studio installation and therefore we need to find NuGet.targets in a different location. -->
-      <_NuGetRestoreTargets Condition="Exists('$(MSBuildToolsPath)\NuGet.targets')" >$(MSBuildToolsPath)\NuGet.targets</_NuGetRestoreTargets>
-      <_NuGetRestoreTargets Condition="'$([MSBuild]::IsRunningFromVisualStudio())' == 'true' And Exists('$(MSBuildToolsPath32)\..\..\..\Common7\IDE\CommonExtensions\Microsoft\NuGet\NuGet.targets')">$(MSBuildToolsPath32)\..\..\..\Common7\IDE\CommonExtensions\Microsoft\NuGet\NuGet.targets</_NuGetRestoreTargets>
-
-      <!-- If `DotNetPublishUsingPipelines` is not set we default it to false. -->
-      <DotNetPublishUsingPipelines Condition="'$(DotNetPublishUsingPipelines)' == ''">false</DotNetPublishUsingPipelines>
-
-      <!-- 
-        If DotNetPublishUsingPipelines is set we don't publish symbols during the build stage,
-        only in the Maestro post-build stages. If DotNetPublishUsingPipelines is NOT set then
-        we publish symbols during the build stage.
-      -->
-      <PublishToSymbolServer>true</PublishToSymbolServer>
-      <PublishToSymbolServer Condition="'$(DotNetPublishUsingPipelines)' == 'true'">false</PublishToSymbolServer>
-    </PropertyGroup>
-
+  <Target Name="InitializeSolutionBuildInputs">
     <ItemGroup>
       <_SolutionBuildTargets Include="Rebuild" Condition="'$(Rebuild)' == 'true'" />
       <_SolutionBuildTargets Include="Build" Condition="'$(Build)' == 'true' and '$(Rebuild)' != 'true'" />
@@ -149,12 +129,41 @@
       <_CommonProps Include="VCTargetsPath=$([MSBuild]::ValueOrDefault('$(VCTargetsPath)', '$([MSBuild]::GetVsInstallRoot())\Common7\IDE\VC\VCTargets\'))" Condition="'$(MSBuildRuntimeType)' != 'Core'"/>
     </ItemGroup>
 
+    <ItemGroup>
+      <_SolutionBuildProps Include="@(_CommonProps)"/>
+      <_SolutionBuildProps Include="__DeployProjectOutput=$(Deploy)" Condition="'$(Deploy)' != ''"/>
+      <_SolutionBuildProps Include="__ImportPackTargets=true" Condition="'$(Pack)' == 'true'" />
+    </ItemGroup>
+  </Target>
+
+  <Target Name="Execute" DependsOnTargets="InitializeSolutionBuildInputs">
+    <Error Text="No projects were found to build. Either the 'Projects' property or 'ProjectToBuild' item group must be specified." Condition="'@(ProjectToBuild)' == ''"/>
+    <Error Text="Property 'RepoRoot' must be specified" Condition="'$(RepoRoot)' == ''"/>
+    <Error Text="File 'global.json' must exist in directory specified by RepoRoot: '$(RepoRoot)'" Condition="'$(RepoRoot)' != '' and !Exists('$(RepoRoot)global.json')"/>
+
+    <PropertyGroup>
+      <!-- 'IsRunningFromVisualStudio' may be true even when running msbuild.exe from command line. This generally means that MSBuild is from a Visual Studio installation and therefore we need to find NuGet.targets in a different location. -->
+      <_NuGetRestoreTargets Condition="Exists('$(MSBuildToolsPath)\NuGet.targets')" >$(MSBuildToolsPath)\NuGet.targets</_NuGetRestoreTargets>
+      <_NuGetRestoreTargets Condition="'$([MSBuild]::IsRunningFromVisualStudio())' == 'true' And Exists('$(MSBuildToolsPath32)\..\..\..\Common7\IDE\CommonExtensions\Microsoft\NuGet\NuGet.targets')">$(MSBuildToolsPath32)\..\..\..\Common7\IDE\CommonExtensions\Microsoft\NuGet\NuGet.targets</_NuGetRestoreTargets>
+
+      <!-- If `DotNetPublishUsingPipelines` is not set we default it to false. -->
+      <DotNetPublishUsingPipelines Condition="'$(DotNetPublishUsingPipelines)' == ''">false</DotNetPublishUsingPipelines>
+
+      <!--
+        If DotNetPublishUsingPipelines is set we don't publish symbols during the build stage,
+        only in the Maestro post-build stages. If DotNetPublishUsingPipelines is NOT set then
+        we publish symbols during the build stage.
+      -->
+      <PublishToSymbolServer>true</PublishToSymbolServer>
+      <PublishToSymbolServer Condition="'$(DotNetPublishUsingPipelines)' == 'true'">false</PublishToSymbolServer>
+    </PropertyGroup>
+
     <ItemGroup Condition="'$(Restore)' == 'true'">
       <_RestoreToolsProps Include="@(_CommonProps)"/>
       <_RestoreToolsProps Include="BaseIntermediateOutputPath=$(ArtifactsToolsetDir)Common"/>
       <_RestoreToolsProps Include="ExcludeRestorePackageImports=true"/>
       <_RestoreToolsProps Include="_NuGetRestoreTargets=$(_NuGetRestoreTargets)"/>
-      
+
       <!-- Used in the SDK (Tools.proj) to control whether Build.Tasks.Feed will be restored or not. -->
       <_RestoreToolsProps Include="Publish=$(Publish)"/>
 
@@ -166,7 +175,7 @@
     </ItemGroup>
 
     <!--
-      Builds from the 'internal' project, and only those, can download the .net Runtime 
+      Builds from the 'internal' project, and only those, can download the .net Runtime
       from a private location.
     -->
     <ItemGroup Condition="'$(SYSTEM_TEAMPROJECT)' == 'internal'">
@@ -174,25 +183,6 @@
       <_RestoreToolsProps Include="DotNetRuntimeSourceFeedKey=$(DotNetRuntimeSourceFeedKey)"/>
     </ItemGroup>
 
-    <ItemGroup>
-      <_PublishProps Include="@(_CommonProps)"/>
-
-      <!-- Used in a few places in the stack to decide if publishing was enabled or not. -->
-      <_PublishProps Include="Publish=$(Publish)"/>
-
-      <!-- Used in the SDK (Publish.proj) to control whether in-build symbol publishing should be performed. -->
-      <_PublishProps Include="PublishToSymbolServer=$(PublishToSymbolServer)"/>
-
-      <!-- Forward this property because we can't assume it will be available globally. -->
-      <_PublishProps Include="DotNetPublishUsingPipelines=$(DotNetPublishUsingPipelines)"/>
-    </ItemGroup>
-
-    <ItemGroup>
-      <_SolutionBuildProps Include="@(_CommonProps)"/>
-      <_SolutionBuildProps Include="__DeployProjectOutput=$(Deploy)" Condition="'$(Deploy)' != ''"/>
-      <_SolutionBuildProps Include="__ImportPackTargets=true" Condition="'$(Pack)' == 'true'" />
-    </ItemGroup>
-
     <!--
       Restore built-in tools.
     -->
@@ -222,7 +212,7 @@
       <_SolutionRestoreProps Include="MSBuildRestoreSessionId=$([System.Guid]::NewGuid())" />
       <_SolutionRestoreProps Include="RestoreUseStaticGraphEvaluation=$(RestoreUseStaticGraphEvaluation)" />
     </ItemGroup>
-    
+
     <PropertyGroup>
       <!-- This can be set to false as an optimization for repos that don't use NuGet. -->
       <RestoreUsingNuGetTargets Condition="'$(RestoreUsingNuGetTargets)' == ''">true</RestoreUsingNuGetTargets>
@@ -277,15 +267,7 @@
              BuildInParallel="%(_ProjectToRestore.RestoreInParallel)"
              Condition="'$(Restore)' == 'true'"/>
 
-    <!--
-      Build solution.
-    -->
-    <MSBuild Projects="@(ProjectToBuild)"
-             Properties="@(_SolutionBuildProps);__BuildPhase=SolutionBuild;_NETCORE_ENGINEERING_TELEMETRY=Build"
-             RemoveProperties="$(_RemoveProps)"
-             Targets="@(_SolutionBuildTargets)"
-             BuildInParallel="%(ProjectToBuild.BuildInParallel)"
-             Condition="'@(_SolutionBuildTargets)' != ''" />
+    <CallTarget Targets="ExecuteBuildTargets" Condition="'@(_SolutionBuildTargets)' != ''" />
 
     <MSBuild Projects="AfterSolutionBuild.proj"
              Properties="@(_CommonProps);_NETCORE_ENGINEERING_TELEMETRY=Build"
@@ -333,6 +315,16 @@
       <_ShouldRunPublish Condition="'$(DotNetBuildPhase)' != 'InnerRepo' and '$(DotNetBuildOrchestrator)' != 'true'">true</_ShouldRunPublish>
     </PropertyGroup>
 
+    <ItemGroup>
+      <_PublishProps Include="@(_CommonProps)"/>
+      <!-- Used in a few places in the stack to decide if publishing was enabled or not. -->
+      <_PublishProps Include="Publish=$(Publish)"/>
+      <!-- Used in the SDK (Publish.proj) to control whether in-build symbol publishing should be performed. -->
+      <_PublishProps Include="PublishToSymbolServer=$(PublishToSymbolServer)"/>
+      <!-- Forward this property because we can't assume it will be available globally. -->
+      <_PublishProps Include="DotNetPublishUsingPipelines=$(DotNetPublishUsingPipelines)"/>
+    </ItemGroup>
+
       <!-- Make sure we always publish in VMR build - working around runtime repo which sets Publish to false. -->
     <MSBuild Projects="Publish.proj"
              Properties="@(_PublishProps);_NETCORE_ENGINEERING_TELEMETRY=Publish"
@@ -340,4 +332,15 @@
              Condition="'$(Publish)' == 'true' and '$(_ShouldRunPublish)' == 'true'"/>
   </Target>
 
+  <Target Name="ExecuteBuildTargets"
+          Inputs="%(ProjectToBuild.BuildStep)"
+          Outputs="unused"
+          DependsOnTargets="InitializeSolutionBuildInputs">
+    <MSBuild Projects="@(ProjectToBuild)"
+             Properties="@(_SolutionBuildProps);__BuildPhase=SolutionBuild;_NETCORE_ENGINEERING_TELEMETRY=Build"
+             RemoveProperties="$(_RemoveProps)"
+             Targets="@(_SolutionBuildTargets)"
+             BuildInParallel="%(ProjectToBuild.BuildInParallel)" />
+  </Target>
+
 </Project>