Stephanie Blomberg
By Stephanie Blomberg on June 28, 2024

Tenant Improvements - Steps to Project Success

 

Achieving success in a tenant fit up project requires meticulous planning. Selecting the perfect location, designing the customer’s experience in your space and completing your project without damaging your wallet can seem daunting. As a tenant fit up general contractor, we’ve seen it all and here are our suggestions for your project success.

Understanding the Location

Each location for your retail space is unique and carries its potential for construction challenges. While you’ve likely considered things like market data and lease terms, you may not have thought of the constructability of the location before making the final selection. Existing conditions of the project site can lead to unexpected cost expenditures if not properly investigated before the planning and design stage is complete. Issues like outdated equipment, structural deficiencies, zoning restrictions and code compliance can significantly impact the scope of work, timeline and budget. Addressing these hiccups during construction often requires immediate adjustments to the plans, additional resources and possibly even a redesign, all of which can lead to delays and increased cost.

We recommend introducing the construction team to your project location as early as possible to conduct a thorough site investigation and contingency plan. Even better, bring the GC/CM along on site evaluations for constructability and financial risk mitigation before choosing the final location site. During a site evaluation our team will proactively address challenges and potentially assist with making the most financially stable and constructible site selection while introducing problems early enough to solve before they effect your timeline and wallet.

 

Design Considerations

Tenant improvement construction should prioritize both functionality and aesthetic appeal to attract and accommodate customers. While the design of the space is meant to represent the brand’s identity and appeal to the target market, finish and millwork selections that carry long lead times or aren’t readily available can cause costly delays.

Coordination within the project team key players in Architecture/Design, Construction and Engineering at the early stages of planning is our suggested best practice. While the design team works to plan and execute the aesthetic presentation of the space, the engineering and construction team ensure structural and mechanical integrity and a timely procurement of materials. During the buyout phase, your GC team will investigate the availability and lead time of selected materials and finishes with careful consideration of the schedule and milestones. The GC will do their best to align the materials, required vendors and finishes within the schedule, however, if any specifications have the potential to cause delays it may be best to make a reselection to maintain your project timeline. 

 

The Dollars and Cents

Your overall construction budget is likely one of your biggest concerns and requires the utmost attention at every stage of the project. From planning through punch list, there are often obstacles to overcome to keep the budget on track. Successful budget management on your tenant improvement project takes careful precision from your project team and transparency with the stakeholders.

The GC and design team work diligently throughout each phase of the project to monitor your costs and offer value engineering opportunities when they’re available.

It’s important to understand your costs before signing your lease. Whether your first location or your 15th, each individual project cost structure will be different. You’ll want to take into consideration the cost to construct, permit fees and any tenant improvement funds your landlord will include. Again, developing your budget is a great opportunity to establish your project team early. Our estimating team will help with initial budgeting and evaluating cost savings opportunities along with the design team to work toward a cost per square foot that fits your financial expectations.

 

 

Stephanie Blomberg is our Marketing Manager for New England Construction. She can be reached at sblomberg@neconstruction.com or on LinkedIn

Published by Stephanie Blomberg June 28, 2024
Stephanie Blomberg