Commercial buildouts are complicated projects. Lots of moving parts. Lots of deadlines and schedules. Lots of people, all working towards the same goal, but needing to stay on the same page.
Events tend to get complicated very quickly on any buildout project, but there are a few things you can do to simplify, and give yourself some peace of mind. Here are 3 things you can do to streamline your commercial retail buildout:
- Pre-Lease LOI Consultation: Be sure to compare, or have someone help you compare, what the landlord says they will do for you, with what the space requires to be brought up to specifications. For example, if your space needs two restrooms, and the landlord is only including plumbing for one restroom, that’s good to know. You want to be fully armed with facts like these in order to negotiate for TI (Tenant Improvement) money when you submit your Letter of Intent (LOI). Because these issues are often quite technical, it’s also a good idea to get an accurate site survey completed. A site survey specifies actual conditions, rather than what may be in drawings, so it’s useful when determining what to negotiate for.
- Assemble a tight bid package and find a reliable general contractor: It’s not unusual for some general contractors to bid low in order to get a job, and then to issue multiple change orders while the job is in process. This can be frustrating, as costs increase past where you’ve budgeted. The best way to avoid this is to make sure that you put together a very accurate and detailed bid package, so that you get accurate and itemized bids. It’s also a good idea to use a competitive bidding process; qualifying and soliciting references from your general contractor pool. At the end of the day, you want a reliable general contractor who will do what they’ve agreed to in the bid contract.
- Minimize the number of vendors you have to work with: The number of potential headaches caused by your buildout project will be proportional to the number of vendors you have to deal with. This is true for any stage of the process, including the fulfillment stage. If you are ordering every last piece of fixturing, furniture and equipment from separate vendors, it will be up to you to negotiate pricing, coordinate shipping, and time everything so that it can be installed in the correct order. A simpler way to deal with this is to work with a vendor who offers fulfillment as part of their services, and who will deal with the various suppliers on your behalf.
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F.C. Dadson offers all of the services above, and more, in order to simplify the buildout process. We can help you at all stages of the process, from before you sign the lease to when you need fixtures, furniture and equipment installed. We can even help you locate and hire a general contractor through a competitive bidding process.
For more information, please contact one of our buildout specialists today!