The single biggest mistake business owners make when signing a commercial lease in South Florida is assuming their space will be ready much sooner than it will. I've had this conversation more times than I can count — a business owner signs a lease, tells me they want to open in 60 days, and genuinely believes that's a reasonable timeline.

It's not. And the consequences of getting this wrong are serious: your lease clock starts ticking at execution regardless of whether your space is ready. You're paying rent on a space that isn't generating revenue. Your staff is hired and waiting. Your equipment has arrived. And your contractor is still waiting on permit approval.

This guide gives you real timelines — not best-case scenarios, not what your leasing agent suggested, not what you want to hear. These are the actual numbers from commercial projects in Palm Beach County, Broward County, and Martin County in the current construction and permitting environment.

Phase 1: Lease Negotiation and Space Planning (2–6 Weeks)

Most tenants treat space planning as something that happens after the lease is signed. This is backwards. Space planning before lease execution is one of the highest-value things you can do to protect your timeline and your budget.

Here's why: a space planning exercise — a preliminary layout showing your actual operational requirements in the actual square footage of the space you're considering — will tell you:

  • Whether the space actually fits your intended use (surprising how often it doesn't when you put real dimensions to it)
  • Whether there are structural elements (columns, load-bearing walls, existing MEP runs) that limit your layout options
  • Whether your intended use is permitted by zoning in that location — a restaurant in a space zoned for office use, for example, requires a zoning change or variance that can take months
  • What the realistic scope of build-out will be, which informs your TI allowance negotiation with the landlord

A space plan typically takes 1–2 weeks with a qualified architect. The cost is minimal relative to the value. Do this before you sign, not after.

Phase 2: Design and Engineering (2–12 Weeks)

Once the lease is executed and the space plan is approved, your architect and engineers develop full construction documents for permit submittal. Timelines vary significantly by scope:

  • Basic open-plan office with minimal plumbing: 2–4 weeks
  • Mid-complexity office with private offices, conference rooms, and a kitchenette: 4–7 weeks
  • Retail fit-out with moderate plumbing: 3–6 weeks
  • Restaurant build-out: 6–10 weeks (MEP engineering for hood systems, grease trap, HVAC load is complex)
  • Medical office: 8–12 weeks (DOH-compliant plumbing in every exam room, HVAC infection control design, and potentially AHCA documentation)

Note: if any structural changes are required — moving or opening load-bearing walls, adding rooftop equipment that increases roof loads, or modifying a slab — a structural engineer is required and their scope typically adds 2–4 weeks to the design phase.

Key point: design and permitting can and should overlap. A competent GC will start the permitting conversation while design is still underway, so the permit submittal is ready the moment drawings are complete.

Phase 3: Permit Submittal and Plan Review (3–14 Weeks)

This is where most timelines fall apart — and where the variation between project types and municipalities is the greatest. The building department reviews your drawings before authorizing construction. This is not optional and cannot be compressed by calling the department more frequently.

Timeline by Municipality

Every municipality in Palm Beach County runs its own building department on its own timeline:

  • City of West Palm Beach (ePlans): Generally faster than county on first-cycle reviews; simple TIs can see first-cycle comments in 3–5 weeks
  • Palm Beach County Building Division (unincorporated): Higher volume, 5–8 weeks for simple TIs, longer for complex projects
  • City of Palm Beach Gardens: Thorough reviews; budget 5–8 weeks for first cycle on TIs
  • City of Boynton Beach: Growing permit volume has stretched review times; budget 5–8 weeks
  • Village of North Palm Beach: Smaller staff, typically 4–7 weeks for commercial TIs

Timeline by Project Type

  • Basic office TI (no structural, minimal plumbing): 3–6 weeks
  • Retail TI with minor plumbing: 4–7 weeks
  • Restaurant build-out (building + health department + fire marshal): 7–12 weeks
  • Medical office: 8–14 weeks (additional DOH review layer)

Each rejection cycle adds 2–4 weeks. A first-cycle rejection — which is common — means the design team receives comments, revises drawings, resubmits, and waits for re-review. Most projects go through at least one comment cycle. Projects with incomplete engineering, missing product approvals, or ADA deficiencies may cycle two or three times.

The way to minimize rejection cycles: submit a complete, well-coordinated drawing set with all trade permits simultaneously. This sounds obvious but a significant percentage of permit delays are caused by incomplete submittals.

Phase 4: Construction (5–26 Weeks)

Construction begins after permit issuance. Timelines depend on scope and site conditions:

  • Basic open-plan office, under 3,000 sqft: 5–8 weeks
  • Medium office with private offices, conference rooms, kitchenette: 8–14 weeks
  • Retail fit-out (no food service): 6–12 weeks
  • Restaurant full build-out: 16–26 weeks (grease trap excavation, hood system, HVAC upgrade, health department separate inspection)
  • Medical office: 14–22 weeks (plumbing in every room, clinical HVAC, potential lead shielding)

These ranges reflect normal conditions with adequate subcontractor availability. During South Florida's peak construction season — late fall through spring — subcontractor scheduling can compress availability and push timelines toward the longer end of each range.

Long-lead materials also affect construction schedules in ways that catch many clients off-guard:

  • Commercial HVAC rooftop units: 12–20 weeks lead time from order to delivery in current market conditions
  • Walk-in cooler systems (for restaurants): 8–14 weeks
  • Custom millwork and cabinetry: 6–12 weeks
  • Specialty electrical gear (switchgear, custom panels): 10–20 weeks
  • Lead-lined doors for medical imaging rooms: 8–16 weeks

These items must be ordered well before construction is complete — in many cases before construction even begins, as soon as the permit is filed and the design is locked. A GC who waits until the field work is ready before ordering long-lead items will create a delay at the end of the project when everything else is done and you're waiting on an HVAC unit.

Phase 5: Inspections and Certificate of Occupancy (1–4 Weeks)

After construction is complete, you need a passed final inspection and a Certificate of Occupancy (CO) before you can legally operate. This phase involves:

  • Calling for final inspection with the building department
  • Passing inspections across all trades (building, mechanical, plumbing, electrical)
  • Addressing any punch-list items identified by the inspector
  • CO issuance by the building department

For restaurants, the health department inspection for the food service license happens concurrently or immediately after the CO. For medical offices with AHCA-licensed facility types, the AHCA survey adds additional time.

In normal circumstances, plan 1–2 weeks from construction complete to CO. Projects with punch-list issues or inspection failures should budget 2–4 weeks.

A Temporary Certificate of Occupancy (TCO) is available in some situations — it allows you to open and operate while minor, non-life-safety items remain outstanding. This is a legitimate tool to compress time-to-open when the punch list is truly minor. It's not a substitute for completing the work, and inspectors know the difference.

Total Realistic Timelines: Lease Signing to Open Doors

Adding all phases together, here are the realistic timelines from the day you execute your lease to the day you open for business:

  • Basic office (under 3,000 sqft, minimal plumbing): 4–6 months
  • Mid-range office (private offices, conference rooms, kitchenette): 6–9 months
  • Retail fit-out (no food service): 5–8 months
  • Restaurant build-out: 8–14 months
  • Medical office: 9–14 months

If these numbers are longer than you expected, build your business plan and lease negotiation around them — not around what you hoped. A lease with a 3-month rent abatement period that assumes you'll open in month 4 doesn't protect you if the real timeline is 9 months. Negotiate your free rent, TI allowance, and rent commencement terms with realistic timelines in hand.

What Causes Delays (And How to Avoid Them)

Incomplete Design at Permit Submittal

This is the most common single cause of permit delays. Drawings submitted without complete MEP engineering, without signed/sealed structural calculations, or without product approval documentation get rejected — and every rejection cycle costs 2–4 weeks.

Sequential Permit Submittals

Submitting the building permit first, then plumbing, then mechanical, then electrical — instead of all simultaneously — sequences the review and adds months. All trade permits should be submitted on the same day.

Material Lead Time Surprises

Not identifying long-lead materials at the start of construction and ordering them immediately. HVAC equipment, walk-in coolers, custom millwork, and specialty electrical gear ordered at mid-construction will arrive after everything else is done.

Subcontractor Scheduling in Peak Season

South Florida's peak construction season runs October through April. Subcontractors are busy, scheduling windows compress, and preferred subs may not be available on your preferred timeline. Start the GC selection and subcontractor bidding process well before you need boots on the ground.

Failed Inspections

Calling for inspections before the work is actually complete, or before unapproved field changes have been properly documented through the design change process, results in failed inspections and re-inspection scheduling delays.

How to Compress the Timeline

These strategies consistently reduce project timelines for our clients:

  • Start design before the lease is fully executed. Have an LOI in hand and commission your architect and engineers during lease negotiation. Every week of design that happens before lease execution is a week taken off the front end of the project.
  • Request a pre-application meeting with the building department before permit submittal. This 30-minute meeting identifies submission requirements specific to your project type and municipality, reducing first-cycle rejection risk significantly.
  • Order long-lead items as soon as the permit is filed. Don't wait for permit approval. If the permit is rejected, equipment orders can be cancelled or modified. If you wait for permit approval to order, you'll add months to your schedule.
  • Work with a GC who has established subcontractor relationships and can commit resources to your project without waiting in the scheduling queue of a busy sub who has never worked with them before.
  • Use a GC with local permitting relationships. A contractor who has submitted dozens of projects in your municipality knows what that department wants to see, who to call with questions, and how to respond to comments efficiently.

How Pajaziti & Associates Manages Your Timeline

We treat timeline management as a core deliverable — not a secondary concern behind scope and budget. From pre-construction through CO, we maintain a detailed project schedule, identify long-lead items and order them at the earliest responsible moment, manage permit submittals across all trade disciplines simultaneously, and maintain working relationships with building officials and plan reviewers across Palm Beach, Broward, and Martin Counties.

Our pre-construction services are specifically designed to compress the period between lease signing and construction start — the phase where most clients lose the most time. We engage your design team early, front-load the permit preparation process, and put your project in the best possible position to move through plan review on the first cycle.

If you're planning a commercial build-out anywhere in South Florida, the earlier you bring us in, the more time we can save you. Contact us before your lease is signed — a 30-minute conversation about your project type, target municipality, and operational timeline can meaningfully change your opening date.