Signing a lease on a new commercial space in Long Beach for your business can be both exciting and terrifying. It’s scary because you are now locked into a monthly payment—likely a large one—for the term of your lease, but it’s exciting because, in most cases, you get to customize the space to accommodate you, your employees, and your business activities.
If you are fortunate, your lease agreement includes an allowance for tenant improvements that will cover some or all of the costs. If the space needs any sort of structural changes, your first call should be to an architect that is a tenant improvement specialist in Long Beach.
To be clear, not all tenant improvements need the help of an architect. If you are just making cosmetic changes, such as changing out flooring, repainting, or updating fixtures, you can work with an interior designer that specializes in commercial spaces. However, if you are removing walls, adding walls, or otherwise changing the floorplan of the space, you need to bring in an architect to draw up the plans for approval.
An architect that is a Long Beach tenant improvement specialist will also take into account your business’s specific needs—like if your space needs power upgrades to accommodate special equipment, a special air filtration system to help keep your employees healthy, or any sort of structural or mechanical changes. For complex projects, the architect may need to bring in specialists, such as engineers, to help complete their plans. A good architect will have a network of engineers and other professionals they can call on for assistance.
Mark Grisafe, owner of Grisafe Architecture in Long Beach, had this to say about tenant improvement projects: “Tenant improvements are some of our favorite types of projects to complete at our Long Beach architecture firm. We love working with business owners and learning about different types of industries. We also love the challenge that comes with designing a space that will help a business reach its full potential, while still meeting the code requirements of the city. In our more than 20 years in business, our firm has become known as a tenant improvement specialist, and we’ve been involved in some great projects with business owners throughout the City of Long Beach.”
As Grisafe indicated, commercial spaces in Long Beach are required to meet some fairly strict requirements, such as energy efficiency standards, ADA laws, and of course, building codes. Working with a local architect or architecture firm that is familiar with the city’s requirements is a must! Otherwise, your tenant improvement project could be delayed for many months when your plans require seemingly endless corrections and changes by city officials before they will be approved.
