A promising address can still be the wrong construction project. The floor plan may look close, the landlord may offer an allowance, and the target opening date may sound comfortable. None of those things confirms that the proposed business can occupy the space without major redesign, utility work, approval delays, or costs that were never assigned to either party.

Before signing, treat the space as a small preconstruction study. The objective is not to finish the design or negotiate the lease for your attorney. It is to identify what is known, what is assumed, who controls each decision, and which unknowns could change the business case.

This guide is practical planning information, not legal advice. Have qualified Utah counsel review the lease, work letter, remedies, dates, insurance, and allocation of risk. Use a contractor and the appropriate design professionals to evaluate the physical work. For construction context, review Platypus Design and Construction's statewide tenant improvement service, plus the local pages for Utah County tenant improvements and Salt Lake County tenant improvements.

The pre-lease feasibility test

A useful review answers four separate questions. Keeping them separate prevents a verbal assurance in one category from being mistaken for proof in another.

  • Use: Is the intended operation allowed at this address, and what approvals attach to it?
  • Space: Can the existing shell, structure, exits, accessibility, fire protection, and building systems support the proposed layout?
  • Responsibility: Which party designs, pays for, permits, constructs, inspects, corrects, and owns each portion of the work?
  • Time: What must happen before plans can start, before a permit can be issued, before construction can begin, and before the business can open?

The result should be a written decision record, not a vague impression. A one-page matrix with Confirmed, Conditional, and Unverified columns is often more valuable than another conceptual rendering.

1. Confirm the intended use and the actual authority having jurisdiction

Start with the exact suite address, parcel, municipality, and proposed operation. A county name in a mailing address does not tell you which city, district, utility, planning office, building department, fire authority, or health agency controls the project.

Utah uses statewide adopted construction codes and amendments, while local compliance agencies enforce them through their own permit and review processes. The Utah Division of Professional Licensing building-code page and its laws and rules index are good statewide starting points. The project still needs current direction from the jurisdiction responsible for the address.

Ask the planning or zoning office to confirm, in writing when possible:

  • The zoning district and whether the precise business activity is permitted, conditional, accessory, or prohibited.
  • Whether the proposed operation changes the approved use or occupancy of the suite or building.
  • Parking, loading, signage, outdoor storage, drive-through, hours, noise, historic, or site-plan conditions that may affect the operation.
  • Whether a prior approval, conditional use, project plan, landlord filing, or business-license step must precede the building permit.
  • Which agencies must review the project, including fire, health, utilities, planning, public works, or a separate district.

For example, Provo identifies tenant finish as an interior build-out for business occupancy and directs applicants to verify zoning before the building-permit process. That is a useful reminder, not a rule for every Utah city. Confirm the sequence for the actual address.

2. Define the business operation before testing the space

A generic label such as office, retail, medical, restaurant, salon, fitness, warehouse, or light industrial is not enough for design or code review. Two tenants in the same broad category can place very different demands on exits, plumbing, ventilation, power, fire protection, acoustics, loading, accessibility, and health review.

Prepare an operating brief that covers:

  • Normal and peak occupant counts, customer flow, employee work areas, and hours of operation.
  • Equipment list with dimensions, weights, heat output, electrical load, gas demand, exhaust, drainage, water, data, and service clearances.
  • Storage type and quantity, receiving method, waste handling, deliveries, and any hazardous or regulated materials.
  • Privacy, sound separation, security, after-hours access, and landlord-controlled common areas.
  • Future growth that should be protected now, such as another exam room, production line, kitchen appliance, server rack, or EV charger.

This brief lets the contractor and design team test the real operation rather than a simplified broker plan. It also makes conversations with the landlord, utility, and jurisdiction more specific.

3. Verify the condition of the shell and base-building systems

Walk the space with people who can separate visible condition from construction assumption. Existing drawings are useful, but they are not a substitute for field verification. A prior tenant may have changed walls, capped plumbing, altered ductwork, removed circuits, or left corrections incomplete.

Request and compare the best available records:

  • Current floor plans, reflected ceiling plans, life-safety plans, structural drawings, and mechanical, electrical, and plumbing documents.
  • Approved permit set, revision history, inspection results, certificate of occupancy, and any unresolved correction notices for the suite and affected common areas.
  • As-built or record drawings, while recognizing that either label can still contain gaps.
  • Landlord design criteria, building standards, contractor rules, access rules, insurance requirements, and shutdown procedures.
  • Equipment schedules, service sizes, panel directories, HVAC information, fire-alarm and sprinkler documentation, and utility account or meter information.

During the walk, record panel and meter locations, available electrical capacity, HVAC equipment and controls, plumbing points, roof or shaft access, sprinkler and alarm coverage, rated walls, ceiling height, slab penetrations, signs of water entry, and conditions in the path from parking or sidewalk to the suite. Photograph labels and locations with permission.

Do not assume that a pipe, panel, duct, or capped connection has usable capacity. Capacity is a design and provider question. Accessibility is also broader than the suite door.

The U.S. Department of Justice's 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design explain that alterations to public accommodations and commercial facilities must address accessibility within the altered work, and some primary-function alterations can affect the accessible path serving that area. Have the design team and counsel evaluate the project-specific requirements instead of treating existing conditions as automatically compliant.

4. Test build-out feasibility against a real permit checklist

A concept plan can show that desks fit. It cannot establish code compliance or permit readiness. Run the concept against the current submittal checklist for the jurisdiction and ask what information is missing.

Provo's current commercial tenant-finish checklist calls for coordinated architectural, civil, electrical, mechanical, and plumbing information, plus a code analysis covering occupancy, exiting, construction type, floor area, occupant load, sprinklers, and alarms. It also asks for accessibility dimensions, wall sections, structural information, ceiling details, and rated assemblies. Requirements vary by jurisdiction and scope, but the checklist demonstrates how much more a permit set contains than a space plan.

Have the team screen at least these issues:

  • Occupancy classification, occupant load, exit count, travel distance, door swing, corridor width, and emergency lighting.
  • Accessible route, entrance, door clearances, service counters, fitting or treatment rooms, toilet rooms, hardware, and common-area interfaces.
  • Fire-resistance ratings, tenant separations, penetrations, sprinkler coverage, fire alarm devices, hood or suppression systems, and fire-department access.
  • Structural implications of new openings, concentrated equipment, rooftop units, suspended loads, storage, mezzanines, slab cuts, and core drilling.
  • Mechanical ventilation, exhaust discharge, outside air, heating and cooling loads, controls, and landlord restrictions on roof or exterior work.
  • Plumbing fixture count, water and waste capacity, grease or specialty waste, water heating, backflow, and routing through other premises.
  • Electrical service, panel capacity, voltage, phase, fault current, metering, emergency power, and equipment disconnects.
  • Energy-code documentation, envelope changes, lighting controls, and commissioning or testing that may apply.

If a critical system cannot be observed or verified before lease execution, state the assumption, the investigation needed, who will authorize access, who pays for it, and what happens if the assumption is wrong. That is a coordination question for the project team and a contract question for counsel.

5. Confirm utilities by provider, capacity, location, and release sequence

A utility is not confirmed because a meter exists or a broker says the building has plenty of power. Verify the provider, account arrangement, service size, spare capacity, meter location, upgrade path, application requirements, design inputs, easements, access, fees, and inspections needed before activation.

Build a utility matrix for:

  • Electric power, including voltage, phase, service and panel capacity, demand from new equipment, transformer implications, and meter responsibility.
  • Natural gas, including appliance demand, meter and regulator capacity, line routing, ventilation, and provider clearance.
  • Domestic water, fire service, sanitary sewer, specialty waste, and any separate utility or district requirements.
  • Telecommunications, security, fire alarm monitoring, and provider entrance pathways.
  • Heating and cooling source, after-hours operation, control rights, maintenance responsibility, and whether service is shared or dedicated.

Rocky Mountain Power's electric service requirements manual directs nonresidential applicants to coordinate service requirements, provide load information, and work with the power company before material purchase and installation. Printed requirements can become outdated, so use the current provider process and a project-specific representative rather than relying only on an old manual or an existing meter label.

Enbridge Gas construction services similarly directs businesses needing new or updated service to coordinate the service line, meter needs, gas demand, and local clearance. A utility upgrade can depend on design information and inspections that sit outside the general contractor's direct control.

If the project includes exterior excavation, sawcutting, or new underground service, coordinate utility locating and private-line investigation. Utah's Underground Utility Facilities Damage Prevention Act notice section is the legal starting point for excavation notice. Confirm current field procedures with Blue Stakes of Utah 811 and the affected utility owners.

6. Label the plan status precisely

Many pre-lease misunderstandings begin with the sentence, The plans are done. Replace that sentence with a dated document register.

  • Test fit: a preliminary layout used to see whether the program fits. It is not a coordinated permit set.
  • Schematic design: major layout and system concepts are taking shape, but engineering and details may still change the scope.
  • Design development: assemblies, systems, and equipment are more defined, but final coordination and permit documentation may remain.
  • Permit set: the package intended for jurisdictional review. Confirm who prepared and sealed it, what disciplines are included, and whether it has actually been submitted.
  • Approved set: the jurisdiction has approved a specific revision. Confirm approval date, permit status, deferred submittals, conditions, and outstanding fees.
  • Construction set: the documents used for pricing and field work. Confirm whether they include all permit comments, owner decisions, and issued addenda.
  • Record drawings: documents that aim to reflect completed work. Verify their source and accuracy before using them as the sole basis for new design.

For every file, list the title, date, revision, preparer, purpose, approval status, and open questions. Attach or identify the exact agreed plan in lease exhibits only after counsel confirms the right approach. A screenshot of a broker plan and an undated PDF should not quietly become the construction scope.

7. Turn the work letter into an executable construction roadmap

The American Bar Association describes a lease work letter as the document that allocates landlord and tenant obligations for the initial improvements. Its practical concerns include defining the work, payment, plan and construction timing, completion, changes, and defect handling. Those are legal drafting decisions. The construction team can help counsel identify the operational details that need to be made explicit.

Ask counsel to coordinate the lease and work letter around questions such as:

  • Who prepares the test fit, permit drawings, engineering, energy documents, specifications, and revisions?
  • Who selects and contracts with the architect, engineers, contractor, subcontractors, testing agencies, and expeditor?
  • What exactly is landlord work, tenant work, base-building work, excluded work, and building-standard work?
  • Which plan, specification, finish schedule, and equipment list defines the agreed scope, and how are later changes approved?
  • Who pays design fees, permit fees, utility work, code upgrades, accessibility work, fire-protection changes, testing, after-hours access, and corrections?
  • How is any tenant-improvement allowance calculated, documented, disbursed, and reconciled? What costs are eligible?
  • Who owns savings and who pays overages? Are landlord administration, supervision, or review charges included?
  • Who controls the schedule, gives access, approves shutdowns, responds to plans, and coordinates work that affects other tenants?
  • What defines delivery, substantial completion, permit completion, certificate of occupancy, punch-list completion, and rent commencement?
  • What happens if approvals, utility work, landlord work, hidden conditions, or permit corrections delay the target date?
  • Who corrects defective or noncompliant work, and what documentation, warranties, and closeout records are delivered?

Avoid relying on loose phrases such as vanilla shell, warm shell, turnkey, permit ready, building standard, or ready for occupancy unless the attached documents define them. These terms can mean different things in different buildings and negotiations.

8. Build the schedule from dependencies, not an opening-date wish

A lease date is not a construction schedule. Work backward from the operational opening, then identify the predecessor for every milestone.

  • Business program and equipment list complete enough for a test fit.
  • Landlord records, building criteria, access, and existing-condition investigation available.
  • Zoning and agency path confirmed for the intended use.
  • Design contracts authorized and owner decisions made on time.
  • Landlord plan review and utility applications submitted with complete information.
  • Permit set accepted for review, comments answered, permit issued, and contractor attached or licensed as required.
  • Long-lead equipment, switchgear, rooftop units, specialty fixtures, storefront, doors, casework, and finishes released at the appropriate risk point.
  • Building access, staging, shutdowns, roof work, deliveries, noise, dust, and after-hours rules coordinated.
  • Required inspections, testing, balancing, fire approvals, health approvals, corrections, and closeout completed in sequence.
  • Furniture, equipment, technology, staff training, business licensing, and move-in coordinated with construction completion.

Salt Lake City's permitting process illustrates why complete submission and response time matter. The city uses pre-screening, fee payment, concurrent review by multiple agencies, correction responses, permit issuance, and separate trade permits. Its published target for first commercial review is not a promise for a particular project, and it does not include the tenant's design time, landlord review, resubmittals, procurement, construction, inspections, or utility work.

Certain businesses have additional gates. Salt Lake City's commercial and multifamily submission checklist notes separate health-department plan review for food service, for example. Ask the actual jurisdiction to map every required approval before the lease schedule is treated as reliable.

9. Bring a contractor in before the scope hardens

Early contractor input is most useful when it tests assumptions, not when it is asked to price an incomplete drawing as if every unknown were included. A pre-lease walk can identify investigations and coordination issues while the parties still have options.

Ask for a short feasibility memo that separates:

  • Observed conditions: what the team could verify in the space and building records.
  • Design assumptions: what must be confirmed by the architect, engineers, code analysis, or equipment selections.
  • Landlord questions: access, base-building capacity, roof rights, penetrations, approved contractors, shutdowns, and common-area work.
  • Jurisdiction questions: use, occupancy, permit sequence, required disciplines, agency reviews, and inspections.
  • Utility questions: provider, capacity, meter, route, application, upgrade, release, and lead-time dependencies.
  • Budget exposures: unknown scope, allowances, exclusions, testing, utility fees, design fees, and work outside the suite.
  • Schedule exposures: information not yet available, decisions, approvals, procurement, and work that another party controls.

If the project needs coordinated architectural, structural, civil, or building-systems input, review Platypus's commercial design and engineering services and tenant improvement design process. For coordination during delivery, the commercial construction project management page explains the project-management context.

A contractor cannot make the lease decision, give legal advice, guarantee approval, or eliminate unknown conditions. The value is practical translation: what needs to be opened, measured, designed, approved, priced, ordered, and sequenced before the target space becomes operational.

10. Use clear decision gates before signing

A disciplined review can end with three lists.

Confirmed

  • The exact address, jurisdiction, intended use, and known approval path.
  • The plan revision and scope that landlord, tenant, designer, contractor, and counsel are discussing.
  • The observed base-building conditions and utility information supported by current records or provider input.
  • The responsible party for design, permits, construction, payment, corrections, and closeout.

Conditional

  • Items that can proceed only after a stated approval, investigation, provider response, landlord consent, or design decision.
  • Budget and schedule ranges tied to named assumptions rather than presented as fixed outcomes.

Unverified

  • Any claim that has no current document, field observation, agency response, utility confirmation, or responsible owner.
  • Any scope described only by an undefined shorthand term.
  • Any opening-date promise that omits design, review, resubmittal, procurement, inspection, or third-party dependencies.

Then decide with counsel what must be resolved before execution, what may be addressed through due-diligence or contingency language, and what risk the business is prepared to accept. Do not let a construction unknown become an accidental legal assumption.

Questions to take into the next site walk

  • What use and occupancy is the suite currently approved for, and how does the proposed operation differ?
  • Which drawing set is current, and what field conditions are known not to match it?
  • Where are the capacity limits for power, HVAC, gas, water, sewer, fire protection, and telecom?
  • Which work affects the structure, roof, exterior, common areas, other tenants, or landlord-controlled systems?
  • What must be designed by licensed professionals for this scope and jurisdiction?
  • Which approvals must occur before permit submission, construction, utility release, and occupancy?
  • What does the landlord deliver, by what definition of completion, and on which dated drawings?
  • Which cost and schedule assumptions still depend on information the team does not have?
  • What is the earliest decision that would prevent the most expensive redesign?

The practical bottom line

The right pre-lease question is not simply, How much will the build-out cost? It is, What must be true for this space, responsibility structure, and schedule to work for this business?

Confirm the use, document the existing conditions, test the concept against real permit requirements, verify utilities with the responsible providers, label the plan status, allocate every task in the work letter, and build the schedule from dependencies. Then let the attorney, design team, contractor, landlord, jurisdiction, and utilities answer the questions that belong to them.

For the construction side of that conversation, start with Platypus's Utah tenant improvement construction page, or review the local paths for Utah County and Salt Lake County.

Primary and professional sources used for this guide