Commercial Construction/ Retail Construction/ Shopping Center Construction

Is the Baby Being Thrown Out with the Bathwater in Big Box Retail Construction Projects?

Bill Di Santo Chicago, Commercial Construction, construction management, general contractors, Retail Construction, Shopping Center Construction 11/24/2009

With the shuttering of stores like Circuit City and Linens N’ Things, big box retailers looking to gain market share certainly have their choice of vacant store locations in prime markets and shopping centers.

And depending on the condition of their new stores, the savings on retail construction costs to retrofit the space could be huge… if owners do their due diligence.

For example, Englewood Construction once worked on the build out of a vacant big box space that was only six months old. The commercial space was in great condition and the infrastructure was there for us to reuse a number of existing elements. In fact, the lighting fixtures we were taking out were the exact same as the new ones we were installing. Yet, our client opted to gut the interior and start from scratch.

As to why the client chose not to use existing elements in its construction renovation, there are a couple plausible reasons. One, they thought the warranty on a six-month-old lighting fixture wouldn’t be worth it compared to the warranty on a brand-new fixture. Or maybe they thought construction costs were already low compared to building new retail construction, so why not have a completely new interior?

Both are valid points, but let’s be honest, when market conditions were in their prime there was a lot of waste when it came to retrofits. Now that budgets are tighter, everyone involved in the design-build process should make an extra effort to see if there are existing elements they can use in a commercial construction project, such as:

Air handler units
Restrooms
Break rooms/kitchens
Electric service/breakers
Fire alarm and sprinkler systems

Before you begin your next big box retrofit, make sure you bring your general commercial construction contractor into the fold as soon as possible so they can assess your construction needs and help determine what structural or mechanical items are worth reusing. Not only will this help you save money, but it will also help save the environment.

Have a question on what you should keep during your next commercial construction retrofit? Feel free to email me at bill.disanto@englewoodconstruction.com.