Check the next commercial use before stripping the premises

Tell the design team what the premises will be used for, which areas will be occupied and whether the proposal changes the layout. Share the existing approved information when available. If the next tenant or use is not known, make that uncertainty explicit.

Separate the physical strip-out from the suitability of the building for the new operation. An empty floor plan is not evidence that exits, washrooms, services or other building features meet the needs of a different use.

Ontario’s Building Code Act addresses changes of use, including circumstances where a permit is required even without proposed construction. The relevant municipality and qualified design team should determine how the actual proposal is treated. A demolition contractor should not be asked to resolve that classification from a marketing description.

Use the resulting plans to mark retained and removed elements. Identify any investigation required before design can be completed. Avoid clearing all existing systems while the project team is still deciding which ones can be reused.

Provide YAK with the approved or developing removal plan, the next-use objective and the status of outstanding decisions. Ask for assessment of the identified demolition portion. Design, approvals, new installations and permission to occupy are separate outcomes, and should have their own responsible parties rather than being implied by a strip-out quotation.