Hiring a tenant improvement contractor in Atlanta starts with defining the deal, not guessing a price from the square footage. The lease, work letter, existing conditions, intended use, building rules, design, and reviewing jurisdiction all affect what must happen before a tenant can occupy the space.
This guide gives owners, tenants, asset managers, and tenant representatives a practical way to organize those inputs. It does not replace the lease, the construction contract, the design team’s code analysis, or direction from the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ).
What a Tenant Improvement Project Includes
A tenant improvement, or TI, adapts leased commercial space for a tenant’s use. The project may involve demolition, partitions, ceilings, finishes, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire-protection, accessibility, equipment, signage, or changes to how the space is occupied. The actual scope must come from the documents and field conditions for that address.
The general contractor coordinates the construction scope assigned under its contract. The owner or tenant may separately retain the architect, engineers, equipment vendors, technology providers, furniture installers, testing agencies, or other consultants. Put those divisions in writing so that no design, submittal, purchase, inspection, or closeout item sits between contracts.
Start With the Lease and Work Letter
The lease and work letter should identify who is responsible for each part of the build-out. Labels such as “landlord-built” or “tenant-controlled” are not enough by themselves. Create a responsibility map that answers:
- Who retains and pays the architect and engineers
- Who submits applications and pays permit or review fees
- What condition the landlord must deliver and when
- Which utility services and building systems reach the premises
- Who pays for capacity upgrades or work outside the suite
- Who purchases long-lead, owner-furnished, or tenant-furnished items
- Which landlord standards, approved-contractor lists, and work-hour rules apply
- Who approves plans, finishes, substitutions, changes, and payment requests
- What testing, inspection, occupancy, turnover, and restoration obligations apply
Construction counsel should interpret the lease and work letter. The contractor can turn the assigned construction scope into an estimate and project plan, but should not resolve conflicting lease language by assumption.
Treat Shell Condition as a Checklist, Not a Label
“Cold shell,” “warm shell,” “vanilla box,” and “second-generation space” can mean different things in different leases. Replace the label with a written record of what exists, what stays, what the landlord will deliver, and what the tenant must add.
Verify at least these items before relying on a conceptual budget:
- Approved plans and the existing certificate-of-occupancy record available for the space
- Existing and proposed use or occupancy
- Demolition limits and any items designated to remain or be reused
- Electrical service, panels, metering, lighting, and available capacity
- HVAC equipment, controls, distribution, ventilation, and available capacity
- Domestic water, sanitary service, fixtures, and any special waste requirements
- Fire alarm, sprinkler, egress, emergency lighting, and other life-safety interfaces
- Entrances, routes through the suite, restrooms, service counters, and common-area interfaces
- Structure, roof, loading, elevator, delivery, and equipment-access constraints
- Landlord design criteria, building rules, shutdown procedures, and protection requirements
Photographs and a walk-through help, but concealed conditions and system capacity may require records, testing, selective investigation, or design analysis. List unresolved items as assumptions or open questions rather than pricing them as known facts.
Build a Conceptual Budget From Scope Inputs
A conceptual budget is useful when it identifies what information was available and what remains undefined. Organize it by scope instead of forcing the project into a generic cost-per-square-foot range.
Budget categories may include survey and investigation, demolition, architectural and engineering work, permit and review fees, site logistics, temporary protection, partitions, ceilings, doors, millwork, finishes, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, low-voltage systems, equipment connections, signage, testing, commissioning, and closeout. Separate landlord work, tenant work, contractor work, and owner-purchased items.
Also record the pricing date, drawing revision, finish basis, equipment list, assumed work hours, access restrictions, temporary-service needs, exclusions, and unresolved code or capacity questions. That record lets the team revise the budget deliberately as design develops.
Make Contractor Proposals Comparable
Two totals are not comparable unless they cover the same work. Issue bidders the same drawings, scope narrative, landlord criteria, equipment information, and proposal form. Then reconcile each proposal line by line.
Use these terms deliberately:
- Base scope is the work included in the proposal total.
- Allowance is a placeholder for an item that is not sufficiently defined; the contract should state how the final amount is reconciled.
- Unit price applies a stated rate to a defined and measured quantity under the contract.
- Alternate separates an optional or unresolved scope so the team can accept or reject it explicitly.
- Exclusion identifies work the bidder has not included.
The comparison should also show assumptions, owner purchases, permit responsibility, design responsibility, bonds or insurance required by the contract, testing, temporary work, taxes, proposal validity, warranty documents, and closeout deliverables. Clarify conflicts before award rather than treating a missing line as included.
Identify the Address and Reviewing Agencies Early
“Atlanta” can describe a mailing address, the City of Atlanta, or another metro jurisdiction. Confirm the parcel and AHJ before selecting forms, assigning design work, or promising a permit path.
For work inside the City of Atlanta, begin with the City’s online permitting page and its current applications, forms, and checklists. The applicable path can depend on the existing and proposed use, occupancy, scope, address, and systems affected. Building, trade, zoning, fire/life-safety, sign, health, or certificate-of-occupancy reviews may be separate when applicable.
A tenant change without construction may still have an occupancy process. The City publishes a Historic Certificate of Occupancy: No Work Tenant Change affidavit and application with its own documentation requirements. Confirm with the City whether that path fits the specific space instead of assuming it does.
Georgia’s Department of Community Affairs publishes the current state minimum construction codes and Georgia amendments. The design team should confirm the current code set and local requirements for the project rather than copying editions from an older plan set or checklist. Required design professionals, seals, submittals, and reviews depend on the work and the AHJ.
Address Accessibility During Design
Accessibility review is not limited to a restroom checklist. The existing conditions, altered elements, proposed use, route to the altered area, and interfaces with shared building features can matter.
The Department of Justice’s 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design address additions and alterations, including rules for altered spaces and primary-function areas. Those rules include scope-specific provisions and exceptions. The project team should have the design professionals evaluate applicable federal, state, and local requirements for the actual scope; a contractor’s walkthrough does not replace that analysis.
Build the Schedule From Dependencies
A useful TI schedule states its starting point and completion point. Lease execution, design authorization, permit submission, permit issuance, construction start, substantial completion, final approvals, and tenant opening are different milestones.
Build the schedule around project-specific dependencies: landlord approvals, field verification, design decisions, agency reviews, utility or building shutdowns, procurement, demolition, rough-in inspections, close-up, finishes, testing, corrections, and occupancy documentation. Identify who controls each decision and the date by which it is needed. Do not treat a past project duration or an unofficial review estimate as a promise for a new address.
Control Draws, Changes, and Payments With Records
The lease, loan documents, and construction contract determine the payment process. Before work starts, align the schedule of values, application format, review sequence, retainage if any, stored-material requirements, supporting invoices, inspection documentation, and any required statutory forms.
A change record should identify the condition or request, the affected scope, price basis, schedule effect, design or permit implications, and required authorization. Maintain a current log of pending and approved changes so that the budget and schedule reflect the same decisions.
Payment applications may include progress evidence, subcontractor and supplier documentation, and waivers or releases required by the governing documents and law. Those records help administer payment, but no single form guarantees that a lien, payment, or contract dispute cannot occur. Have counsel establish the forms and procedure appropriate to the project.
Define Closeout Before Construction Starts
Closeout requirements belong in the contract and subcontracts. Depending on the scope, the package may include inspection approvals, occupancy documents, punch-list completion, as-built information, operation and maintenance manuals, test or commissioning reports, training records, keys and access credentials, attic stock, equipment information, and separate manufacturer or contractor warranty documents.
Name the person responsible for each deliverable and the approval needed for final payment or turnover. “Complete” should have the same meaning in the lease, construction contract, payment process, and tenant-opening plan.
Keep Specialized Build-Out Topics Separate
Retail storefronts add landlord criteria, signage, merchandising, customer-access, and opening-sequence questions; use the metro Atlanta retail build-out guide for that selection context. Food-service projects add equipment, ventilation, waste, and agency dependencies; see the Atlanta restaurant build-out guide before defining that scope.
For a project-specific discussion, review Integrity CRR’s commercial construction services and send the available lease, work letter, plans, and address.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who hires the tenant improvement contractor?
The landlord, tenant, or another project entity may hold the construction contract. The lease and work letter should identify who selects the contractor, who approves that selection, who pays the contractor, and who is responsible for landlord and tenant work. Do not infer those responsibilities from the phrase “TI allowance.”
What is a tenant improvement work letter?
A work letter is the lease document or exhibit that describes the landlord’s and tenant’s build-out obligations. It should be read with the lease and reconciled with the construction and design contracts so that scope, approvals, payment, schedule, and turnover responsibilities match.
What does a contractor need for a conceptual TI budget?
Provide the address, lease work letter, available existing and proposed plans, intended use, landlord criteria, finish expectations, equipment list, schedule constraints, and access rules. The budget should identify missing information and assumptions so that later revisions can be traced to a scope or design decision.
Does an Atlanta tenant improvement require a permit?
The answer depends on the exact address, existing and proposed use or occupancy, and work being performed. Confirm the AHJ first, then use its current application materials to identify any building, trade, zoning, fire/life-safety, sign, health, or occupancy reviews that apply. The contractor and design team should assign each required submission rather than making a blanket assumption.
Does a tenant change with no construction need City review?
It can. The City of Atlanta publishes a no-work tenant-change certificate-of-occupancy packet with eligibility and documentation requirements. That packet is not proof that every no-work change qualifies for the same path, so the applicant should confirm the facts and current process with the City.
How should I compare tenant improvement proposals?
Give each bidder the same bid documents and compare base scope, assumptions, allowances, unit prices, alternates, exclusions, owner purchases, permit responsibilities, testing, and closeout. Resolve omissions and conflicts in writing before selecting a proposal.
When is a TI allowance paid?
The lease and work letter control whether there is an allowance, what costs qualify, what conditions must be met, and how reimbursement or direct payment works. Align those requirements with the construction contract and payment calendar before work begins; do not assume the landlord’s payment timing changes the tenant’s obligations to its contractor.
What should be included in TI closeout?
The required package depends on the contract and scope. It may include final approvals, occupancy documentation, punch-list completion, as-built information, manuals, tests, training, keys, attic stock, equipment records, and separate warranty documents. List each required item and approver before construction starts.