Commercial Property Renovations

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Commercial property renovations can vary from minor redesigns for the building’s interior to major changes for the exterior (and sometimes both exterior and interior) of the structure. Even a small property renovation can be a major project. It is important to have an idea of the entire renovation process before diving into the project.

 

Commercial Property RenovationsRenovation Logistics

The first step in a commercial property renovation is to recognize why a building needs to be renovated. Some common reasons include:
– New tenant
– New build-out
– Updating the space (carpet, paint, etc.)
– Amenity upgrades and energy efficiency

At this step, the building owner and sometimes a tenant are the only parties involved. It is critical to look at the zoning laws, certificate of occupancy, the state of the property, neighborhood, and other factors. Some of these factors may completely prohibit certain kinds of renovations, while others may drastically increase the budget. For example, if hope to turn an office space into retail space, the certificate of occupancy may state that the building can only be used for offices.

 

Find a General Contractor

Next, you should be able to identify what types of professionals you need to hire for your project. If you’re just working on energy upgrades, an HVAC professional and electrician could be enough. If you’re renovating the front of a property, you might want an architect and contractor.

If you are performing multiple types of renovations at a time, you might want to hire a general contractor to oversee all of the projects and make sure they all stay on schedule.

 

Make a Budget

It can be hard to budget for commercial building renovations without first getting estimates. Now is a good time to start a budget. You probably had some idea of what you wanted to spend on the project before, but now that you have talked to professionals, you should have a better idea of what you can expect to spend. You may want to add an additional 25 percent for a contingency budget in addition to what was quoted to give yourself some wiggle room if unexpected problems arise during the construction process.

 

Design Professionals

You may want to work with an architect, interior designer, or another design professional to figure out what you want the space to look like when you are done. It can be useful to involve a general contractor in this process as they can offer input that can help make your plans more realistic and affordable based on their experience.

 

Building Permits

Before starting a building renovation, you will need to obtain permits for the work. If you’re working with a contractor or architect, they will likely take care of the permits, otherwise, you may need to get permits.

 

Construction

Once you have taken care of all the design, planning, and permits, you should be ready to start construction. In most cases, you probably won’t be very involved in this stage of the commercial building renovation. If any problems arise the contractor will send you an addendum to the existing project.

 

Renovation Inspections

If you are the building owner or new tenant, you may want to check on the property while it is being remodeled. A city or village building inspector may stop in during or after the construction to ensure building codes are met. If you had to make a change to the certificate of occupancy to change the use of the building, the coding official would inspect the renovations before issuing you a new certificate of occupancy.

Once all the renovations are made, and the inspections are complete, you or your new tenant into the remodeled building.

If you are looking for a general contractor or construction company for commercial property renovations, contact Albrite Building today or call us at 630.655.9436! Our construction company specializes in building, remodeling, and more. We are located at 777 Oakmont Lane, Suite 50, Westmont, Illinois 60559