What a Commercial Architect Does Before a Lease Is Signed

A lease is usually signed on the strength of a floor plan, a location and a rent. The questions that decide whether the space will actually work for your business tend to surface later. A commercial architect can help you ask them while you can still walk away.

Start with the space, not the sign

When people search for a commercial architect in Los Angeles, they are often already deep into a lease negotiation. That is understandable, but the most useful moment to involve an architect is earlier: after you have found a space you like and before you commit to it. At that stage the cost of learning something unwelcome is small. After signing, the same discovery can reshape your budget and your opening plans.

Does your business fit the space?

A test fit is a simple planning study that lays your actual needs over the actual floor plan: reception, seating or work areas, storage, restrooms, back-of-house, equipment. It answers practical questions. Do the columns fall in awkward places? Is the entry where your customers will expect it? Is there room for the way your staff really move through a day? A test fit is not a finished design. It is a reality check on whether the space can hold the business you are describing.

What does the building already provide?

Existing buildings come with existing conditions, and they vary widely. An architect can help you look at items such as:

• Whether the entrance, path of travel and restrooms are likely to need work to meet accessibility requirements.
• How the space is served by mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, and whether your use may need more than is there.
• Exits, fire separation and sprinklers, which are part of the life-safety picture for any occupied space.
• Ceiling heights, structure and storefront conditions that limit or enable the layout you have in mind.

None of this replaces a full survey or the advice of engineers, but it points to where surprises tend to hide.

Is the use allowed here?

Zoning controls which uses are permitted in a given location, and the building code treats different uses differently. A space that worked well for one kind of tenant is not automatically suitable for another. Whether your use is allowed, and whether moving in would trigger new requirements, depends on the property and the jurisdiction. We cover the building side of that question in our guide to commercial change of use, and the planning and building departments can confirm how your specific address is treated.

What does the lease leave to you?

Leases divide responsibility for improvements in different ways. Some leave the space as is, some include work by the landlord, and some provide an allowance toward your improvements. Terms about who performs and pays for work, who must obtain permits, and what you must restore at the end can have real design consequences. An architect can explain what the drawings and construction are likely to involve, but the lease itself is a legal document. Have the lease's own counsel review it before you sign.

A lease commits you to a space for a long stretch. Planning beforehand is the least expensive part of the whole project.

Questions worth asking before you sign

• What was the space used for before, and is there any record of permits or approvals for it?
• Are accessibility, restrooms and exits in a condition you can live with, and who is responsible if they need work?
• What does the landlord provide, and what falls to you?
• Does the building's mechanical, electrical and plumbing capacity suit your equipment?
• What does the local building department need to see for the work you intend to do?

Where a design professional fits

Our commercial architecture work covers this early stage as well as design and permit drawings. If you want a sense of what the process looks like, the frequently asked questions are a good place to begin. Nothing here predicts what a given building department will require, and no one can promise a particular outcome before the facts are in. What an early review can do is replace assumptions with information.

If you are weighing a space in Los Angeles, the contact form is the easiest way to start a conversation. For a wider view of who does what on a project, see architect, designer or contractor: who you need first.

Start with the architect. Whatever the question is, the design, the permit, the budget or who to bring in next, an architect looks at the whole project first and then helps you choose and coordinate the engineers, designers and builders it needs. Talk with Kevin Cohen, AIA about your project.

General information only, not legal, engineering or code advice. Rules differ by city and change over time, so confirm the details for your property with your local building and planning departments and with qualified professionals.