Selecting and Preparing Your New Office

Start with the required move-in date and work backward.

Originally published August 2011. Updated October 2026 to reflect current owner-side office relocation planning.

Selecting a new office brings together a series of decisions that eventually have to converge on one date: when the organization needs to occupy the space.

The lease, design, approvals, construction, technology, furniture and move all have their own requirements and dependencies. Establishing the required occupancy date gives the team something concrete to plan against.

Then work backward.

Start Before You Sign the Lease

Before committing to a space, understand what the business needs from the new location and what the building can actually provide.

How much space is required? What workplace configuration supports the operation? What infrastructure is already there? What needs to be replaced or added? Are there unusual technology, security, power, HVAC or operating requirements?

Those questions can affect both space selection and lease negotiations.

Tenant improvement allowances, landlord work, access dates, approval rights, restoration obligations and responsibility for existing conditions can materially affect the capital plan.

The project team should understand those implications while the lease is still being negotiated.

Build the Schedule Around the Actual Project

There is no universal rule for how long an office relocation should take.

A relatively simple second-generation office may move quickly. A major build-out involving substantial design, approvals, infrastructure changes or long-lead equipment may take considerably longer.

The schedule should reflect the actual scope and typically needs to account for:

• Business and space requirements
• Site identification and evaluation
• Technical due diligence
• Lease negotiations and landlord work
• Programming and design
• Budgeting and approvals
• Permitting
• Procurement and construction
• Furniture and technology installation
• Testing and commissioning
• Move preparation
• Occupancy

Some activities can overlap. Others depend on earlier decisions being completed.

The owner needs to understand those dependencies and where a delayed decision could affect the required occupancy date.

Understand the Cost Before the Commitment Hardens

The tenant improvement allowance is one component of the project economics.

Develop an early view of the total project cost, including construction, professional fees, furniture, technology, security, moving, landlord requirements, permits, contingencies and other project-specific costs.

Early estimates will contain assumptions and allowances because the design is still developing. Those assumptions should be visible so leadership understands what is included, what remains uncertain and what could still affect the budget.

As the project develops, those assumptions can be replaced with better information and the estimate can become more reliable.

Use the Checklist as a Decision Sequence

The checklist should help the owner make the major decisions in the right order.

Before Selecting the Space

• Define business and workplace requirements.
• Establish the required occupancy date.
• Identify potential locations.
• Evaluate building infrastructure and constraints.
• Develop an initial capital budget.
• Perform technical due diligence.

Before Design Advances

• Confirm the space program.
• Define landlord and tenant responsibilities.
• Establish the project team.
• Confirm approval and permitting requirements.
• Identify technology, furniture and long-lead requirements.
• Establish the project schedule and decision dates.

Before Construction

• Reconcile scope, budget and schedule.
• Confirm permit status.
• Complete required landlord approvals.
• Confirm procurement responsibilities.
• Plan furniture, technology and move activities.

Before Occupancy

• Test building systems and technology.
• Complete inspections and required approvals.
• Resolve critical punch-list items.
• Coordinate movers and vendors.
• Confirm operational readiness.
• Establish closeout and warranty responsibilities.

Each office relocation will produce a different schedule based on the building, scope, approvals, procurement requirements and business deadline.

Leadership Takeaway: Establish the required occupancy date early and work backward through the decisions, approvals and commitments needed to get there.