Commercial Tenant Build-Outs in South Florida: From Signed Lease to Opening Day

Most commercial build-outs that go badly were already in trouble on the day the lease was signed. The space was zoned for something else, the electrical service was too small, the restrooms did not meet accessibility rules, or the lease left the tenant paying for the landlord's problems. By the time a contractor sees the plans, the rent clock is running.

This guide walks through a typical tenant improvement, often called a TI or build-out, from the lease to opening day, with the South Florida details that tend to catch people out.

Before you sign the lease

• Zoning and use. Confirm with the city that your business is a permitted use at that address. A restaurant, a medical office and a gym can each be treated differently from general retail.
• Change of occupancy. Turning a retail space into a restaurant, an assembly space or a medical use can change the building code occupancy, which can bring requirements like fire separations, sprinklers, more restrooms or more exits. Ask an architect or contractor to look before you commit.
• Utilities. Check the electrical service, water and sewer size, grease interceptor (for food service), and how much air conditioning capacity the space has.
• Parking. Some uses need more parking spaces than others under the zoning code.
• Walk it with a contractor. An hour on site can tell you whether the space fits your plan or will cost far more than the allowance covers.

Landlord work, tenant work and the allowance

Leases usually split the job into landlord work, often delivering a vanilla shell with working utilities, base restrooms and HVAC, and tenant work, everything that makes it your space. Many landlords offer a tenant improvement allowance toward the tenant's work. Get the split in writing with enough detail that both sides price the same thing, and find out how and when the allowance is paid, since it is often reimbursed after completion rather than paid up front.

Design and permits

1. Drawings. An architect or engineer prepares sealed drawings: floor plan, life safety plan, mechanical, electrical and plumbing, and any structural changes.
2. Landlord approval. Most leases require the landlord to approve the drawings before they go to the city.
3. Plan review. The building department reviews building, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and accessibility, and the fire marshal reviews life safety. For nonresidential spaces under 25,000 square feet, Florida law gives the department 60 business days to approve or deny a complete application; our post on permit timelines explains how the clock works.
4. Other agencies. Depending on the use, health department, environmental or utility approvals may be needed as well.

Accessibility: the 20 percent rule

When you alter an area where the main activity of the business happens, federal accessibility rules require the path of travel to that area, along with the restrooms, telephones and drinking fountains serving it, to be made accessible, up to the point where the cost would be disproportionate. Disproportionate means more than 20 percent of the cost of the alteration. When the full fix costs more than that, the money goes first to an accessible entrance, then an accessible route to the altered area, then accessible restrooms, then phones and drinking fountains. Florida's own accessibility code applies too, and your architect designs to both.

Construction in an occupied building

• Building rules. Shopping centers and office buildings set work hours, noise limits, loading and parking rules, and insurance requirements for contractors.
• Shutdowns. Tying into fire alarm, sprinkler, water or electrical systems that serve other tenants has to be scheduled with the landlord.
• Long-lead items. Storefront glass, rooftop units, kitchen equipment and electrical gear can take weeks or months. Order early.
• Inspections. Each trade is inspected, plus fire inspections for alarms, sprinklers and life safety.

From final inspection to opening day

Passing final inspections gets you a certificate of completion or occupancy for the work. In many South Florida cities you also need a certificate of use for the business at that address and a local business tax receipt before you open. In Aventura, for example, the city issues its business tax receipt only after Miami-Dade County issues the certificate of use, and the receipt must be in place before the business opens. Start those applications during construction so they are not the last thing holding up opening day.

The bottom line

Check zoning, occupancy and utilities before signing, put landlord and tenant work in writing, design for accessibility from the start, and start the certificate of use and business tax receipt early. We build out retail, office, medical and restaurant spaces across Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach, including Fort Lauderdale and Aventura. See our commercial build-outs page, or tell us about your space, ideally before you sign the lease.