Unit Analysis & Site Due Diligence
Walkthrough before you commit: occupant load, exiting, washroom count, ceiling height, and the existing mechanical and electrical capacity of the unit.
Commercial Tenant Improvement
Everything between an empty shell and an occupancy permit — carried by one office, in Metro Vancouver.
Services
Concept Design
Test fits and space planning measured against your business model — how many seats, chairs, treatment rooms or workstations the space will actually hold.
Cost Estimating
A budget at concept and a refined figure at permit set, so the landlord allowance conversation happens with real numbers.
Architectural Design
Full permit and construction drawing sets — plans, reflected ceiling plans, sections, details and schedules.
Engineering & Code Analysis
BC Building Code review, Part 3 / Part 9 determination, spatial separation, sprinkler and mechanical coordination with our consulting engineers.
City Permit Application
Submission, tracking, and every round of municipal comments answered until the permit is issued.
Interior Design
Finishes, millwork, lighting and material selections coordinated inside the permit set rather than bolted on afterwards.
IT Solutions
Structured cabling, server, security and AV rough-in located while the walls are still on paper.
Construction Management
Site reviews, RFIs, change orders and close-out.
Furniture Coordination
Specification, procurement and install scheduling so furniture lands the week you receive occupancy.
How a project runs
1 · Due diligence
We look at the unit before the lease is firm and tell you what it will cost to make it work — occupant load, exiting, washrooms, ceiling height, mechanical and electrical capacity.
2 · Design & budget
Test fits, finishes and an estimate you can take to the landlord allowance conversation.
3 · Permit
BC Building Code analysis, an engineered set, submission, and every municipal comment answered until the permit is issued.
4 · Build & occupancy
Site reviews, RFIs and close-out through to final inspection.
Common questions
Do I need a permit for a tenant improvement?
Almost always. Moving walls, changing plumbing, altering exiting or changing what the space is used for all require a building permit in Metro Vancouver. Cosmetic work — paint, flooring, like-for-like fixtures — generally does not.
How long does a tenant improvement permit take?
Preparation is usually a few weeks. The review cycle at the municipality is the longer part, and it varies by city and by how complete the first submission was. We check the current queue with the municipality when we scope a project rather than quote a number that goes stale.
What is a change of use, and does it apply to me?
It applies whenever the space will be used for something different from its current legal use — a retail unit becoming a clinic, an office becoming a restaurant. It usually triggers new requirements for exiting, washrooms, ventilation and accessibility, even if nothing physical changes.
Can you check a unit before I sign the lease?
Yes, and we would rather you asked before than after. A unit feasibility check covers occupant load, exiting, washroom counts, ceiling height and what the existing services can carry. It is free and it takes a walkthrough.
Do you apply for the permit, or do I?
We apply as your authorized agent. The city corresponds with us rather than with you, comments get answered the same week, and we carry responsibility for the drawings we submit.
Do you work with the landlord’s allowance?
Yes. We produce concept budgets and permit-set updates in the form an allowance conversation needs, and we will tell you early if what you want does not fit what is on offer.
Who handles the engineers?
We do. Structural, mechanical, electrical and fire consultants are coordinated as part of our permit and design packages rather than billed as a separate service.
By municipality
Every city in the region runs permits differently. These cover what is actually true of each one.
- Vancouver — Vancouver is the one municipality in the region that writes its own building code. That single fact changes most of what follows
- Burnaby — Burnaby runs a more paper-based process than its neighbours, and rewards a complete first submission more than most
- Surrey — Surrey is the one municipality in the region that publishes what its permit reviews actually take — and separates tenant improvements into three streams with their own targets
- North Vancouver — The first thing to establish is which North Vancouver you are in. There are two, they are separate municipalities, and they do this differently
- Coquitlam — Coquitlam publishes more guidance than most municipalities in the region, and has one gate that can stop a project before it starts
By type of business
What changes when the space becomes a clinic, a restaurant, a daycare, a studio or an office.
- Medical & Dental Clinic — A clinic is one of the most services-heavy fit-outs there is. Almost all of the cost and almost all of the delay sits above the ceiling and below the floor
- Restaurant & Café — Food service is the most permit-heavy fit-out in commercial work, and the one where a single number in a code table can change the whole project
- Daycare & Education — Childcare is the fit-out with the most parallel approvals, and the one where the building permit is often the easier half of the job
- Gym, Studio & Wellness — Fitness spaces look like simple fit-outs — an open floor and some equipment. The complications are structural, mechanical and acoustic, and they are not obvious on a walkthrough
- Professional Office — Offices are the most straightforward commercial fit-out to permit — which is exactly why the problems that do arise tend to be unexpected
Setup 30 min Free Consultation
- Free unit feasibility check
- Free test fit where eligible
- Answers on permits and code, not a sales call