Opening a new commercial space — whether it's a coffee shop, a restaurant, a retail store, or a multi-tenant plaza unit — is one of the biggest investments a tenant or franchisee will ever make. The construction phase alone can run anywhere from eight weeks to seven months depending on scope. For first-time operators, the gap between "lease signed" and "doors open" is often where surprises and budget overruns hide.
This guide walks through the five phases of a typical Ontario commercial build-out, what to expect at each stage, and the pitfalls that consistently catch new tenants off guard. For an overview of how Platinum delivers these projects end-to-end, see our construction services.
Step 1 — Lease & landlord coordination
The build-out actually begins before the lease is signed. The landlord's work letter defines what is delivered as base building (typically structure, demising walls, basic HVAC trunk, washroom rough-in) versus what falls to the tenant. Negotiating this scope is the single biggest cost lever you have — anything in the work letter is paid by the landlord, anything outside it is on you.
Common items to push for: extra electrical capacity, additional HVAC tonnage, demising-wall finishes, exterior storefront. Common items left to the tenant: interior partitions, all finishes, kitchen and serving equipment, signage, fire-suppression upgrades.
Step 2 — Design & permit drawings
Once the lease is firm, the tenant retains an architect (and usually a mechanical/electrical/plumbing engineer) to produce two sets of drawings: a design intent set used for landlord approval, and a more detailed permit set that the municipality will review.
For a typical 2,000–3,500 sq ft restaurant or retail unit, allow four to eight weeks for design. Franchise concepts move faster because the brand provides a prototype design package, but the local engineer still has to adapt mechanical and electrical to the specific suite.
Three things slow this stage down more than anything else:
- Late decisions on equipment (especially restaurant kitchens — cut sheets drive the entire MEP layout).
- Landlord redlines arriving piecemeal instead of in a single review pass.
- Site conditions discovered late (asbestos in older buildings, undersized electrical service, missing gas service).
Step 3 — Permits & approvals
In Ontario, a commercial build-out almost always requires a building permit from the municipality. Depending on the use, you may also need:
- Public Health Unit approval — mandatory for any food-service operation, reviewed alongside or after the building permit.
- TSSA registration — Technical Standards and Safety Authority, for any gas-fired equipment (kitchen ranges, fryers, water heaters, rooftop units).
- ESA inspection — Electrical Safety Authority, separate from the building permit, mandatory for all electrical work.
- Signage permit — usually a separate application, sometimes through a different department.
- Liquor licence (AGCO) — for restaurants with bar service, runs in parallel and can be the long pole if started late.
Permit timelines vary widely by municipality. In the GTA, expect three to six weeks from a clean submission to permit-in-hand. Smaller jurisdictions can be faster; larger or busier ones (Toronto, Mississauga) can stretch longer, especially if the application kicks back for revisions. Plan for at least one round of comments — submissions that pass on the first review are the exception, not the rule.
Step 4 — Construction phase
With permits in hand, the general contractor mobilizes. A typical commercial build-out runs through five overlapping stages:
- Demolition & site prep — strip back to base building, expose existing services. Often turns up surprises (capped drains in the wrong spot, undersized electrical feeds).
- Framing & rough-in — partition walls, plumbing and electrical rough, HVAC ductwork, fire-suppression piping. This is the longest single block and where most of the inspections happen.
- Drywall, ceilings, finishes — closing in the walls, painting, flooring, millwork installation.
- Final MEP & equipment set — fixtures, light fittings, HVAC commissioning, kitchen equipment installation, gas connections.
- Punch list & deficiency walk — the tenant walks the space with the GC and lists every item still to be addressed before opening.
Owner-supplied items (FF&E — furniture, fixtures, equipment) are a perennial schedule risk. Anything the tenant orders directly must arrive on time and to the right spec, or the GC's sequencing falls apart. Restaurant equipment, custom millwork, and signage are the most common culprits.
Step 5 — Inspections & occupancy
Before opening, the project must pass final inspections from the building department, ESA, the health unit (if applicable), and TSSA (if applicable). Each is independent — passing one doesn't mean the next is automatic.
Once cleared, the municipality issues an occupancy permit (or its equivalent — terminology varies). Only then can the tenant legally open to the public.
Plan a deficiency window of one to two weeks between substantial completion and the soft-opening date. Trying to open on the same day construction wraps almost always backfires. Examples of restaurant, retail and coffee builds delivered through this exact sequence are in our project gallery.
Realistic timelines
Every project is different, but these are typical ranges for Ontario commercial build-outs from permit-in-hand to occupancy:
| Project type | Typical duration |
|---|---|
| Small retail (under 1,500 sq ft) | 8–12 weeks |
| Coffee shop or QSR (1,500–2,500 sq ft) | 10–14 weeks |
| Full-service restaurant (2,500–4,500 sq ft) | 14–20 weeks |
| Multi-unit plaza or larger fit-out | 20–28 weeks |
Add four to ten weeks of design and permitting on top of these. A common rule of thumb: from lease signing to opening day, allow six to nine months for a restaurant, four to six months for retail.
Common pitfalls — and how to avoid them
- Under-scoping the landlord work letter. Every item missed in the work letter becomes a tenant cost. Walk the site with the GC and the architect before signing the lease.
- Late equipment ordering. Long-lead items (rooftop HVAC units, custom kitchen equipment, signage) need to be ordered the moment design is locked, not when the GC asks for them.
- Rushing permit drawings. Submissions with missing details get kicked back, and a single revision round can add three weeks. Investing one extra week on the front end almost always saves time on the back end.
- Skipping the pre-construction meeting with the landlord. Loading dock access, after-hours work rules, deliveries, dust control — every landlord has rules, and finding out mid-construction is expensive.
- Treating soft-opening as the deadline. The hard deadline is occupancy permit, not opening day. Build in a deficiency buffer.
A well-planned build-out is a series of decisions made early, in the right order, with the right people in the room. The construction phase itself is the most visible part — but most of what determines whether a project finishes on time and on budget happens before a single wall is framed.