Choose an office space build-out (fitout) contractor
29-03-2009 - Boston Business Journal by Keith Regan
Make sure size of the job fits the build-out (fitout) contractor. A good build-out (fitout) contractor will embrace the project management part of the task and will tell you when you need to have your data guys in there running cable and just coordinating a lot of the details with the owner's representative.
In September the Castle Group will trade in its Tremont Street offices for new space in the Charlestown Navy Yard.
When exactly the move will take place is still being worked out; it's one of the many details Wendy Spivak, principal of the event planning and public relations firm, is overseeing as part of the 9,600-square-foot retrofit of the space, designed to reflect the firm's culture.
"There are so many little things to consider," Spivak says. "Every single decision brings another batch of decisions."
Spivak is confident the September move-in date will be achieved because of the team that's managing the build-out (fitout) which started just days after the firm took ownership of the space in late May. That confidence stems in part from her experience as a part-owner of Newbury Street restaurant Croma, as she recently oversaw the construction of a second restaurant in Plymouth.
"The key is to find a contractor that's the right size for you," Spivak says. "You want to make sure the job is important to them."
A good build-out (fitout) contractor will embrace the project management part of the task, she says. "They'll tell you when you need to have your data guys in there running cable and just coordinating a lot of the details with the owner's representative."
What good contractors provide - above all else - is predictability, says Vern Rich, director of construction operations in the corporate interiors group of Shawmut Design and Construction in Boston.
"At the end of the day, whoever is saddled with the chore of overseeing a project like this, be it the office manager or the CFO - they want to hire a firm that is going to be proactive and willing to take the lead so it doesn't become another job for them," Rich says. "Clients really look for that project management expertise and experience."
Experience with specific properties can be valuable as well.
"Every building downtown is slightly different," says Rich, noting that most of Shawmut's work takes place in Boston proper. Shawmut recently revamped two floors of office space in the Prudential Center, for instance.
Good contractors also consider ways to minimize disruption when a project is taking place in an occupied building.
Chris Oldham, an executive vice president with Maynard-based construction firm J.M. Coull, whose clients have included Bose and Boston Scientific Corp., says it is key to ask prospective contracting firms to identify the people who will be managing the project on the job site.
"The ability to construct in an occupied environment is the single largest area of risk for the owner," Oldham says. During construction, "They are in control of your tenants' environment," he says.
Both Oldham and Rich say an experienced firm brings another benefit: strong working relationships with key parties, such as subcontractors and architects.
"The subcontractors that are taking direction from the contractor should not be new relative to working with the contractor," Oldham says. "If this is their first time working together, it could mean exposure to unforeseen events or risk for the owner."
Still, on-time construction is far and away the most important component of any project, experts say.
"The No. 1 requirement of a tenant improvement contractor is the ability to deliver the completed premises on time," says Donald Oldmixon, vice president and manager of real estate, construction and leasing for Hobbs Brook Management LLC. "Schedule is critical to the business operations of the tenant."
While it's important to have a single point person working with a contractor, those with experience say it's equally important to get lots of upfront input to ensure the best design.
"Change orders cost money, so it's important to get a good design up front," says Spivak, adding that Castle executives provided design input for the creative common areas and office arrangement. "It might take a little longer upfront to get everybody's input, but it should make people happier in the long run."
Boston Business Journal by Keith Regan