It happens often that a tenant who visits an occupied space for the first time is smitten by its ambiance and immediately considers moving his or her entire team. In some cases, this involves a sub-lease, the type of transaction that does not include a budget for rental space improvements. The agreement is signed and right away the move is coordinated.

Once the offices are cleared, the management team visits the site and notices that the open space is fine but more work stations are required. The reception area also needs to be scaled down in order to add an extra conference room. Now that the space is empty, the kitchen really needs to be redone and the finishing appears less polished than on the initial visit.

So the essential is in place but a small budget must be allocated to make adjustments. The building owner reminds you that only professionals (engineers, designers) can be hired and that a plan must be submitted before proceeding with the improvements.

By densifying the open space, the engineer points out that by adding more people and equipment, there is a greater load on the air conditioning and that the equipment will need to be reviewed. By moving around the work spaces to add some more, it appears that they were directly powered by the floor below. This will incur some serious electrical costs. The holes left in the carpet from the previous desk layout now require the reviewing of the floor finishing. The lighting must be moved and more lights added above the new work stations. Some of the current lighting no longer works and to top it off, it’s a discontinued model.

Adding a conference room means reducing the size of the reception area which may end up quite costly. The current conference rooms were made of glass but the acoustics prove to be problematic because your business activities require a high level of confidentiality. Should they be replaced?

This seemingly perfect office space that corresponded to exactly what you needed at the beginning is now becoming a real ordeal, requiring time, resources and a budget.

Our team is ready to conduct a budgetary evaluation and a realistic planning of drawings, calls for tender, rendering and moving.

Just when you think you found an ideal space, take a step back and consult with professionals. Our team is ready to conduct a budgetary evaluation and a realistic planning of drawings, calls for tender, rendering and moving. Before signing, make sure you truly have a real deal.