Commercial building renovations can vary from minor interior redesigns to major changes to both the exterior and interior of the structure. Even a small business building renovation can still be a major ordeal though, and it is important to have an idea of the full scope of the process before diving into a renovation project.
Business Renovation Needs and Logistics
The first step in a commercial property renovation is to recognize why a building needs to be renovated. Some common reasons include a change in tenancy, modernizing the appearance of the space, amenity upgrades and increasing energy efficiency. At this step, the building owner and sometimes a tenant are the only parties involved.
Before moving to the next stage, it is critical to look at the certificate of occupancy, property violations, zoning laws, the current state of the property, the neighborhood and other factors. Some of these factors may completely prohibit certain kinds of renovations; others may drastically increase the budget and others may just affect what needs to be done before the work is completed. For example, if you are hoping to turn office space into retail space, the certificate of occupancy may state that the building can only be used for offices. Changing your certificate of occupancy can be a difficult, expensive and time-consuming process. And if the property is not zoned for what you’d like to do, changing the zoning may be entirely impossible. Similarly, if you are in a historic district, you may not legally be able to change the exterior of your building even if you can do anything you want to the building’s interior.
Another problem that may arise will be if you want to change a retail clothing space into a car dealership. You would need to check the status of the building to see if it is structurally sound enough to support the weight of vehicles.
You should also take this time to evaluate the overall status of the building. If you’re going to be making major changes to make the building look better and your HVAC system could afford a repair, you might as well make those changes at the same time.
- Find Contractors and Designers
- Make a Budget
- Design Your Renovation
- Obtain Your Permits
- Doing the Remodeling
- Performing Necessary Inspections
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