About the Service
A tenant improvement is the work done inside a leased commercial space to make it fit the business that will occupy it. Anything from new partitions and finishes through to a full build-out from bare concrete.
We handle the whole package for North Shore businesses. Design coordination, landlord consent, permits with City or District of North Vancouver, all trades, inspections, and handover ready for occupancy.
Spaces We Build Out
- Office fit-outs. Open plan conversions, private offices, boardrooms, reception areas, kitchens, acoustic treatment, lighting and millwork.
- Retail build-outs. Storefront, display systems, flooring, lighting and accessible washrooms, sequenced to hit a lease commencement date.
- Restaurants and cafes. Commercial kitchens, hood and make-up air systems, grease interceptors, washrooms and front of house, coordinated with Vancouver Coastal Health approval.
- Medical and dental clinics. Operatories, sterilisation areas, medical gas, lead-lined rooms and reception, built to the standards your regulator and your equipment supplier require.
- Light industrial and warehouse. Warehouse office builds, mezzanines and washroom additions inside existing envelopes.
Our Process for Tenant Improvements
- Consultation and needs assessment. We start with how your business actually runs. Headcount, workflow, customer experience and the lease dates you have to hit.
- Site review and existing conditions. We check the base building systems, meaning mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection, plus structural conditions and any landlord restrictions in your lease.
- Design and code compliance. We work with designers, engineers and consultants on a layout that meets your operations and complies with the BC Building Code, fire safety regulations and accessibility standards.
- Permits and approvals. Several approvals are needed, and we manage all of them on your behalf. The list is below.
- Construction and trade coordination. Trades scheduled and supervised on site, phased so neighbouring tenants keep operating. Full scope is set out further down.
- Inspections and quality control. Municipal inspections booked and passed at each stage, including fire and life safety testing, plus our own quality checks before we call anything done.
- Final walkthrough and occupancy. A detailed walkthrough with you and the landlord, deficiencies cleared, and occupancy signed off so you can open.
Approvals a tenant improvement needs:
- Landlord consent. Written approval of the proposed work from the building owner or property manager, usually the first thing that has to happen.
- Building permit. Submitted to City or District of North Vancouver Development Services with architectural and engineering drawings.
- Trade permits. Electrical, plumbing, HVAC and sprinkler permits as the scope requires.
- Health authority approval. Required for restaurants, food service and medical facilities, through Vancouver Coastal Health.
- Fire department review. For any change to fire alarm, sprinkler or life safety systems.
We submit complete the first time and deal directly with inspectors, because on a TI the lease clock is already running.
Using Your Landlord’s TI Allowance
Most commercial leases include a tenant improvement allowance, a dollar amount per square foot the landlord contributes toward the build-out. It is negotiated as part of the lease, not after.
Two things decide whether you actually get the benefit. First, whether the scope you want fits inside what the allowance covers, since landlords often restrict it to base building work rather than your branding and specialty equipment. Second, whether the drawings and invoices are documented the way the lease requires for reimbursement.
Bring us in before you sign. A pre-lease review costs you nothing and it is the cheapest point in the whole project to find out what a space will really cost to fit out.
What the Construction Scope Covers
TI projects run on tight timelines inside occupied buildings, so the scope is planned around access as much as around the drawings.
- Demolition and preparation. Removing existing partitions, finishes and outdated systems while protecting common areas shared with other tenants.
- Space reconfiguration. New walls, partitions and layouts to the approved plans.
- Mechanical, electrical and plumbing. Modifying or upgrading HVAC, lighting, plumbing and fire suppression to meet current code and your equipment loads.
- Fire and life safety. Fire alarm, sprinkler and emergency systems coordinated with the municipal fire department and building bylaws.
- Interior finishes. Flooring, ceilings, millwork, paint and specialty finishes, in commercial grade materials rated for your traffic.
- Specialty installations. Commercial kitchens, medical gas, retail display systems, server and IT rooms.
- Supervision and coordination. Our project manager and site supervisor stay on site, so trades perform to standard, inspections pass and the schedule holds.
Working Around an Open Business
- Minimal downtime. We phase the work and go after hours or overnight when the space cannot be closed. Every day you are shut costs more than the construction does.
- Compliance first. All work meets or exceeds the BC Building Code and fire and life safety standards, with inspections booked in sequence rather than at the end.
- Transparency. Progress reports, schedule position and cost tracking on a regular cycle, plus direct coordination with your landlord and property manager.
- Commercial grade craftsmanship. Materials specified for commercial traffic, not residential finishes that look fine on day one and fail in a year.
We work across the Lonsdale corridor, Lower Lonsdale, Central Lonsdale, Lynn Valley and the Park Royal area, in both the City and the District of North Vancouver, plus West Vancouver and the wider Lower Mainland.
