Tenant turnover is part of owning commercial property. A retail tenant moves out, a new one moves in, and somewhere between those events, the space needs electrical work to fit the new tenant's use. The tenant improvement (TI) process can go smoothly or it can blow up your lease commencement date and trigger expensive change orders. The difference is usually in the planning phase, not the execution.
This post covers what Cincinnati landlords, property managers, and asset owners need to know about commercial electrical tenant improvement work: how it's typically scoped, who pays for what, what causes most problems, and how to set up TI projects to actually finish on time.
Commercial TI electrical work is almost always a negotiation between landlord scope and tenant scope. The lease usually defines this, sometimes clearly and sometimes not. The two sides:
What the landlord typically provides as part of the base building or in the work letter:
What the tenant typically pays for as part of their fit-out:
Where most disputes happen:
The cleaner the lease language on these, the smoother the project.
Easiest TI scenario. The space was an office, the new tenant is also an office. Existing lighting, outlets, and infrastructure may largely work as-is. Typical scope: lighting layout updates, outlet additions in cubicle areas, conference room AV power, IT/server room dedicated circuits.
Most office-to-office TI projects in Cincinnati are 4 to 8 weeks of total project time including design, permitting, and installation, with electrical scope typically running 2 to 4 weeks of that.
Similar to office-to-office in that base infrastructure may carry over. Tenant-specific items typically include lighting design (retail lighting is brand-specific), POS power, signage, and storefront lighting. Some retail tenants require dedicated circuits for specific equipment.
Brand-driven retail tenants (national chains) have specific electrical specifications they require, regardless of what existed before. The TI scope often includes complete demolition and rebuild of the lighting and power layout.
The most challenging TI scenario from an electrical standpoint. Restaurants require significantly more electrical capacity than office or retail tenants. Service capacity is frequently the limiting factor.
Typical electrical scope: kitchen equipment power per equipment cut sheets (frequently 100A+ of dedicated capacity), hood and exhaust fan power, walk-in cooler and freezer dedicated circuits, make-up air unit power, shunt-trip breakers for cooking equipment, POS and front-of-house circuits, lighting design (often dramatic for ambiance).
Restaurant TI also involves division of work between trades: the electrician handles power circuits, the hood vendor handles hood controls, the fire suppression vendor handles suppression and interlocks. Coordination matters.
Restaurant TI projects in Cincinnati typically run 12 to 20 weeks total, with electrical scope being 4 to 8 weeks of that. Service upgrades, when needed, can add weeks for Duke Energy coordination.
Medical TI adds specialty requirements: dedicated circuits for medical equipment, emergency power systems for life-safety equipment, isolation transformer or isolated ground requirements for sensitive electronics, ADA-compliant outlet and lighting placement, and coordination with medical equipment vendors who specify their power requirements.
Medical TI typically requires more design time and engineered drawings (at least for the medical equipment scope). 8 to 16 weeks total project time is typical.
Often more involved than expected. The previous restaurant's hood, equipment, and electrical were specified for their menu and operations. The new restaurant probably needs different equipment, which means different power requirements.
Common items: equipment power circuit modifications, hood replacement (often), cooler/freezer relocations, additional dedicated circuits for new equipment. Service capacity is usually adequate, but the layout almost always changes.
The lease says the landlord provides "adequate electrical service." When the tenant moves in and discovers the existing service can't support their kitchen equipment, an expensive negotiation begins.
Solution: Specify electrical scope in the lease or work letter. Include service size in amps, panel capacity, and any specific items the landlord is providing or excluding. Generic language causes problems.
The tenant doesn't finalize equipment selection until well into the buildout. The electrician designs to assumed loads, only to discover the actual equipment requires different circuits, voltages, or capacities.
Solution: Get equipment cut sheets early. Tenant final equipment specifications should be locked before electrical rough-in starts. Changes after rough-in are expensive change orders.
Cincinnati and surrounding jurisdictions have varying permit turnaround times. Electrical permits for TI work can take 1 to 4 weeks depending on complexity and current department backlog. If the schedule assumes a 1-week permit turnaround and reality is 4 weeks, the schedule slips.
Solution: Build realistic permit timelines into the schedule from the start. Submit permits early. Don't assume best-case turnaround.
If the TI requires service capacity changes, meter relocations, or anything else Duke Energy has to do, that scheduling has to be planned in advance. Duke Energy doesn't move on tenant timelines.
Solution: Engage Duke Energy early. Service work timelines from Duke Energy should be confirmed before lease commencement is set.
The previous tenant's electrical isn't documented. The electrician has to spend time figuring out what's connected to what, which adds labor cost and risks of cutting active circuits.
Solution: Maintain as-built documentation when previous tenant moves out. If as-builts don't exist, budget time and money for the electrician to investigate before demolition.
The existing electrical isn't to current code. Some items (whole-home surge protection, AFCI/GFCI updates, grounding) only become apparent during the work.
Solution: Pre-construction assessment by the electrician to identify code issues. Negotiate responsibility for code corrections in the lease before construction starts.
The hood vendor expects the electrician to provide power. The fire suppression vendor expects the electrician to coordinate interlocks. The kitchen equipment supplier expects the electrician to make final connections. If these coordination points aren't clear, things fall through cracks.
Solution: Define vendor scope clearly in writing. Pre-construction coordination meetings with all trades. The general contractor or project manager should track each interface point.
Whether you're managing a single property or a portfolio, a few practices that protect you:
For TI electrical work specifically:
Lump sum pricing with detailed scope is generally better than time-and-materials for fixed-scope projects. The contractor takes on the schedule and labor risk; you get cost certainty.
Allowances for unknowns. When existing conditions aren't fully documented, building in allowances for typical issues (code corrections, abandoned wiring removal, unforeseen demolition findings) is fair to both sides.
Change order procedures. Establish in writing how change orders are documented, priced, and approved. Verbal scope changes during construction are a common source of disputes.
Progress billing tied to milestones. Final payment held until inspection passes and as-builts are delivered.
Ground Zero Electric is a licensed Ohio and Kentucky electrical contractor specializing in commercial tenant improvement work across Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. We work with landlords, property managers, general contractors, and tenants on TI projects ranging from simple office buildouts to complex restaurant fit-outs.
Our commercial TI work includes detailed bid documentation, lump-sum pricing on hard-bid projects, fire alarm capability under one license (Ohio Fire Alarm #54.31.4834), and the schedule discipline that commercial projects require.
Learn more about commercial electrical and TI →
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