5 Necessities for a Successful

Tenant Improvement Project

Review Building Standards Before Signing

While your space is your space, it's still

located in your landlord's building. Most

landlords have specific standards for how

they want spaces to be configured. You

could find your choices of finishes, fixtures or equipment limited.

Additional requirements can apply to your entrance if you are on a

shared floor. For instance, if your corporate standard is to have

double glass doors, and the building standard is to have a single

wooden door with an adjacent window, you might have to

negotiate a solution or compromise your standards. 

1

Necessity #1

www.reoptimizer.com

Negotiate TIs on a Rentable Sq. Ft. Basis

Part of getting what you want is having a

generous tenant improvement

allowance. Simply slipping the word

"rentable" instead of "usable" into the

description of how the allowance gets

figured can easily increase your

construction dollars by 10% or more.

Since you pay rent on your rentable space,

it's reasonable to expect that the rent you

pay entails you to an allowance that

matches it on a square foot basis. However, since you only build

out your usable space, you'll effectively get an extra amount per

usable square foot equal to your load factor.

2

Necessity #2

www.reoptimizer.com

Involve a Space Planner

Space planners are experts at squeezing every square foot out of

a floor plan. They can help you to design a more efficient

space that works around the specific features of your chosen

space - like the location

of egress points and the

spacing of structural

columns.

An efficient space plan

can also make your

employees more

productive as they have

space that is more conducive to effectively collaborating with

each other. Furthermore, if you're able to make do with a smaller

3

Necessity #3

www.reoptimizer.com

space or spend less of your tenant improvement allowance, a

space planner pays for himself. 

3 Space Planning Tips to Reduce Energy Costs

4

Generate Detailed Plans and Specs

The more that you specify up front, the more likely you are to end

up with a space that will match your expectations. When you

leave the details up to the construction crew or the landlord, the

odds are that they will select solutions that either require less-

expensive materials or that require less labor. Sometimes, this

works out and sometimes it doesn't. Specifying exactly what you

want prevents unexpected outcomes. 

Before you start any construction, take the time to evaluate your

needs now and possible needs in the future.

5

Necessity #4

www.reoptimizer.com

Leave Ample Time for “Punch List” Completion

It's unreasonable to expect that your

space will be finished with no issues,

right on time. Punch lists are a fact of

life. To manage the impact that punch

list items have on your operations,

leave yourself some extra time at the

end of your construction schedule. That way, you can get

everything finished with time to spare. While the punch list is

getting worked off, you can also finish testing your systems and

prepare for a successful move. 

There's one more necessity for a great TI - expert help. A

corporate real estate tenant representative's job isn't over after

he's gotten you a lease and a tenant improvement allowance. He

6

Necessity #5

www.reoptimizer.com

can also help you throughout the process of getting your tenant

improvements built out and getting your space ready for your

7

Basic Tenant Improvements

Other great Resources

For great commercial real estate & tenant tips:

View REoptimizer®’s other great resources:

Follow us on social media:

© 2007-2015 REoptimizer, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

8

Learn More

Subscribe to our Blog

Explore our Resources

www.reoptimizer.com