Tenant Improvement Contractor Vancouver

Class A office buildings in Vancouver typically offer TI allowances of $40 to $75 per square foot. Class B buildings offer $20 to $45 per square foot. The allowance partially offsets the tenant's cost of fit-out. If the actual construction cost exceeds the allowance, the tenant funds the difference. If the cost is under the allowance, the excess is typically credited to rent.

TI allowances are typically drawn in stages tied to construction milestones: permit issuance, substantial completion, and final occupancy permit. The landlord draws are documented with progress reports and site photographs. Managing the draw schedule is part of the project management scope.

Tenant improvement projects in Vancouver are almost always driven by a lease commencement date. The critical path from design completion to occupancy includes permit review, procurement of long-lead finishes, construction, and the City of Vancouver's final inspection. Missing the lease commencement date has direct financial consequences — base rent typically begins regardless of whether the fit-out is complete. Working backward from the commencement date at the first project meeting is not optional.

A standard Class B office fit-out of 3,000 to 5,000 square feet requires 2 to 4 weeks for permit drawings, 4 to 8 weeks for permit review, 2 to 4 weeks for procurement of specialty items such as glass partition systems, commercial carpet tile, and custom millwork, and 6 to 10 weeks for construction. That is a minimum of 14 to 26 weeks from design start to move-in, before any delays. Projects with lease commencement dates less than 16 weeks from first contact should be discussed in detail at the initial meeting — compression of the timeline is possible but has direct cost implications.

Early engagement of the landlord's property management team is essential. Most commercial landlords in Vancouver require the tenant's permit drawings to be reviewed and approved before the City of Vancouver will accept a permit application. Landlord review typically takes 1 to 3 weeks. Some landlords require their own structural or mechanical engineers to review any modifications to base building systems before approval. These review periods must be built into the schedule from the start — they are not the tenant's contingency.

Pre-ordering long-lead items before the permit is issued is a common practice on compressed-timeline TI projects in Vancouver. Glass partition systems from European suppliers commonly run 8 to 12 weeks. Architectural millwork for reception desks and boardrooms runs 6 to 10 weeks. Specialty carpet tile from contract suppliers runs 4 to 6 weeks. On projects where the lease commencement date does not allow for a sequential permit-then-procure approach, these items are ordered against the permit drawings before the permit is issued, accepting the risk that minor drawing changes may affect the order. The contractor confirms which items can be ordered at-risk and which must wait for permit approval.