Design & documentation · Nationwide
Shell Space and Tenant Turnover Planning
An empty suite and a previously occupied space start with different questions. True North coordinates the records, base-building responsibilities and tenant scope before drawings and applications move forward.
For owners, project teams and delivery partners nationwide. The written scope identifies True North’s work, the responsible professionals and any separately contracted construction.
Request a project reviewWhat the scope can include
Select the work and handoff your project needs. The agreement identifies the included deliverables and responsibilities.
First occupancy and shell completion
Identify what the shell actually includes: slab, envelope, utility stubs, fire systems and landlord work. Coordinate the tenant layout, equipment and missing building systems against the proposed operation and applicable professional review.
Reuse of a former tenant space
Compare the prior occupancy and issued records with the new use. Document retained systems, selective demolition, equipment changes and repairs so an existing permit or built condition is not mistaken for acceptance of the new operation.
Combining or dividing suites
Coordinate lease boundaries, separating walls, circulation, exits, metering, shared facilities and phased access. Keep landlord approvals and utility responsibilities visible alongside building applications.
Prepare for the assignment
You can start with incomplete records. Tell us what is available and what still needs to be established.
Information to bring
The lease exhibit, landlord criteria, prior approvals, base-building plans, utility information and the proposed operation. Tell us which areas remain occupied and which party controls access.
The agreed handoff
A shell-versus-tenant scope matrix, coordinated layout and drawing requirements, and an approval/action register for the contracted turnover milestone.
Decisions, fees and timing
Scope and dependencies determine the proposal. No universal price or approval date is assumed.
Confirm the basis and responsibility
Review the available records, intended endpoint and authority to use the information. Assign missing inputs, technical decisions and the parties who can authorize changes.
Coordinate and review the work
Prepare the included documents from agreed inputs, resolve interfaces with responsible specialists and track revisions. Record external decisions and conditions separately from work prepared for review.
Account for project-specific dependencies
The completeness of shell records, retained system capacity, landlord decisions, tenant equipment and the need to keep neighboring premises operating.
Deliver the defined milestone
Provide the controlling documents and remaining-action record. Identify what is accepted, what still requires a decision and what belongs to a separately contracted next stage.
Interpret shell labels through the delivery documents
White box, vanilla shell, warm shell and cold shell are informal delivery descriptions. Ask what the lease and landlord scope actually include; none of these labels guarantees a particular system, capacity or approval.
White box or vanilla shell
When a listing suggests a finished-looking interior, request the actual finish schedule, slab and ceiling condition, restroom provision, fire-system records and utility connection information. A clean interior does not establish that ventilation, power or plumbing can support the proposed business. Record supplied versus missing work in the turnover matrix.
Warm shell or cold shell
Use these labels as questions about readiness, not a fixed list of inclusions. Confirm equipment installed or merely allowed for, available service connections, distribution inside the suite, metering, controls, commissioning records and the party completing each interface. Scope drawings and permit responsibility from those facts before tenant design is priced.
Second-generation space
A second-generation space has prior tenant improvements to evaluate. Bring previous plans, occupancy records, equipment history and proposed reuse/demolition limits. Compare the new operation with retained capacity and condition; identify field verification and owner repairs. The output is a retained/removed/new work schedule and assigned approvals, not automatic acceptance of the former tenant’s arrangement.
Lease surrender and space handback
When a tenancy ends, define the agreed handback condition before demolition or debranding begins. Lease interpretation belongs to the owner, tenant and their legal advisors; documentation support records the physical scope they authorize.
Agree removals and retained work
Supply the lease restoration exhibit or authorized instructions, original-condition records, current plans and landlord comments. Tenant debranding may involve signs, finishes and equipment without requiring every fixture to be removed. Identify retained assets, utility termination, penetrations, repair boundaries and responsibility for each task in a restoration scope matrix.
Restoration plans and final records
Coordinate the agreed removal and repair drawings with structural, fire and building-system impacts, landlord review and applicable permits. Construction partners perform separately contracted field work. The handback record can assemble approvals, photographs, inspection results and unresolved items; it does not itself determine that all legal lease obligations have been discharged.
Before you begin
Common questions
Can an old tenant permit be reused?
Supply it as background. The proposed use, changes and current authority requirements must be reviewed before deciding what new or amended approvals are needed.
Who pays for base-building changes?
The lease and written agreements control that allocation. We identify the physical interfaces and unresolved responsibility so the owner and tenant can settle them before dependent design work.
Does a white box or warm shell include everything I need to open?
Do not assume that from the name. Compare the written delivery scope with your operation, equipment and system demands. Document the missing work, who provides it and the approvals needed before relying on a move-in or opening milestone.
Must every tenant fixture be removed at lease surrender?
The agreed lease handback requirements and authorized owner/tenant decisions establish the physical scope. We can document retained and removed work, restoration plans, review dependencies and final records. Legal interpretation of the lease remains with the appropriate advisors.
Your next step
A project in mind?
Let’s give it direction.
Start with what you know. We’ll help define the path ahead.