There’s a lot that goes into finding the best office tenant fit-up building contractors. However, what is office tenant fit-up building?

When a leased space like an office becomes available on the market, the owner wants to do some things to attract a new tenant. One of the first things that should be done, from a contractor’s perspective is to turn the space into a “white” or ‘vanilla box.” A vanilla box is a space cleaned and gutted from the previous occupant’s setup. The space now has clean white ceilings, walls, cement floors – all ready for a new occupant’s specific contractor requirements to be put in place. These new requirements are called “fit-up” construction and consist of the activities necessary to fulfill the new tenant’s needs and wants to make the office ready for everyday business. They can also be called “TIs” or tenant improvements and can consist of everything from light fixtures to wall covering. Usually tenant improvements are covered by the occupant’s own fit-up contractor but sometimes can be the same construction company who built the vanilla box, and could represent the owner hiring the builder for the occupant as part of the lease agreement.

So whether you are an owner working with a previous builder to satisfy the tenant, or an occupant looking for the best contractor, you want a builder who best fits the job. There are many opportunities for challenges to rise up in construction – customers want to ensure they find the best builder to do things the right way. But it begins by identifying the wants and needs, costs and schedule for the project.

The first step in a building project (whether a vanilla box for owner or fit-up project for occupants) is to identify the scope. If the building hasn’t even been gutted yet from a previous tenant, then obviously it will take some work to get it to a point of new occupant fit-up.

Identifying the budget is also very important. Often the costs of the fit-up construction are open to negotiation regarding the payer. That is, the occupant can negotiate with the owner to pay some of the TI costs. Either way, the contractor needs to know the scope, which party is paying for which construction activities, and who is responsible for which approvals.

It is also very important to have an upfront pre-construction meeting between all relevant parties to identify these issues and nail down the terminology (such as fit-up, vanilla box and TIs). This meeting is critical to identify parties’ requirements and contributions before finalizing contracts. It can also help eliminate change orders later.

It is vital to trust that the tenant fit-up building contractor can adhere to pre-defined budgets. But trust is an important word here – and it goes both ways. A quality construction company consists of professionals who take pride in their services. If you wouldn’t hire the lowest cost doctor or lawyer, then don’t do that for a contractor. A quality contractor will be honest about costs and schedules. So seek these qualities in the best office tenant fit-up building contractor.

Want more? Read about Buildrite Construction’s renovation services.