How to Turn an Apartment Building Into a Commercial Building
Commercial real estate can be an office building, retail store or complex. Converting an apartment building, a residential structure, to a commercial building requires remodeling, zoning and permitting. It also means attaining help from an architect and construction manager if you do not have the expertise to handle the conversion yourself. After you purchase the property, the first item of business is to make the building a legal commercial structure. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Rezone the building commercial. Get a copy of your city's zoning bylaws from your city clerk. Follow the procedure documented within these bylaws to petition the city to rezone the apartment building from residential to commercial.
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Hire an architect and construction manager to draw up blueprints on how to convert the former residential space to suit the new commercial demands of the building. This can be anything from converting the top floors to offices and the ground floor into retail space, or all office space.
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Take the plans to the city clerk and get the permits needed to begin construction. You have to pay for the permits, and prices vary. The permits you need vary, depending on the construction work you do. For example; if you are removing walls, you need a permit; if you are doing plumbing renovations, you need another in addition to that.
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Begin the remodel. If you are available to manage and hire the subcontractors like the electricians and plumbers, do so; if not, hire a construction manager to do this for you.
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Call a city inspector to inspect after each stage of development, so you are cleared for occupation of the space once construction is complete. This means that, after the electrician is done, call the inspector to okay the work before you continue. This ensure you do not have to rip out walls or floors to make repairs later on.
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References
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