06Service
Design-Build & Permit Management for Commercial Spaces
Space planning, drawings and permits handled, then built by the same team.
The short version
Design-build means the drawings and the construction come from the same team, on one contract. No handing a beautiful set of plans to a contractor and discovering the budget was fiction. We take commercial projects from a lease and a rough idea through space planning, drawings, permits and construction to occupancy.
Based in Brampton, working across the GTA and the rest of Ontario. One contract, one schedule, one crew accountable for the result.
What's included
The scope, in plain terms
No mystery line items. This is the work we take responsibility for.
Design and planning
- Pre-lease site assessment — what a unit can and cannot support
- Space planning and test-fits against your operations, not a template
- Layout options with the cost implications of each one shown
- Finish, lighting and millwork selections with real samples
- Barrier-free and Code review built into the layout from the first sketch
Drawings and approvals
- Construction drawings coordinated with mechanical, electrical and plumbing design
- Engineering brought in and coordinated where the scope requires it
- Building, mechanical, plumbing and electrical permit applications
- Landlord design review and tenant handbook compliance
- Sector approvals — public health unit, licensing, change of use — where they apply
- Responding to plan-review comments and pushing the application through
Then we build it
- The same team that drew it runs the site
- Design decisions resolved on site in hours rather than in an email chain
- Single point of accountability from concept through occupancy
Why bring us in
What you get that you might not elsewhere
The budget is real from the first sketch
Because we price what we draw, the design never drifts away from the number you can actually spend. You find out what a feature costs while it is still a line on a plan, not after it has been tendered.
Permits are our problem
Applications, plan-review comments, resubmissions and the follow-up calls sit with us. Permit timelines are the most common reason a project slips, and the fix is submitting a complete, coordinated package the first time.
One contract, no seam
When design and construction sit with different companies, the gap between them is where budgets and schedules go to die. Design-build closes it: one contract, one schedule, one company that cannot blame the other one.
Proof
Projects built this way
Real scopes, real constraints, real dates.
How it runs
From first walk-through to keys
Same sequence every time, so you always know what happens next.
- Step 01
Discovery
How your business runs, what the space has to do, your date and your budget. We walk the unit and tell you honestly whether it suits what you are trying to do.
- Step 02
Concept and options
Two or three layouts with the trade-offs and the cost implications shown plainly. This is the cheapest stage to change your mind, so we push you to do your changing here.
- Step 03
Design development and pricing
The chosen layout gets developed into coordinated drawings, finishes and millwork get selected, and the price firms up as the detail does.
- Step 04
Permits
Complete applications submitted, comments answered quickly, landlord approval run in parallel. We keep the file moving instead of waiting to be asked.
- Step 05
Construction and occupancy
Same team, same drawings, same accountability. Inspections attended, punch list closed, documentation handed over and doors open.
Questions
Answered honestly
If the honest answer is “it depends”, we tell you what it depends on.
Do I need an architect?
It depends on the scope and what the municipality requires. Many interior fit-outs can be permitted with drawings from a qualified designer, while structural changes, change of use and larger projects need an architect or engineer sealing the drawings. We tell you which category you are in at the start and bring in the right professional where one is required — we do not pretend a stamp is optional when it is not.
How long do permits take in Ontario?
It varies by municipality, by season and by how complete the submission is — some interior permits move in a few weeks, some take considerably longer, and any resubmission restarts a clock. The single biggest thing in your control is submitting a complete, coordinated package, which is exactly why we would rather spend an extra week on drawings than two months in review.
Can I use my own designer and still have you build?
Absolutely — we do plenty of work as the contractor on someone else’s design. We will review the drawings for buildability and cost early, because designers and contractors catch different problems and the earlier we look, the cheaper the fixes are.
What if the design comes back over budget?
With design-build it usually does not, because we price as we draw. If it does, we bring you options with numbers attached — scope, phasing, or a genuine specification change — rather than quietly substituting cheaper materials and hoping nobody notices. Value engineering that degrades the finish is not something we do to a client without saying it out loud.
Can you assess a unit before I sign the lease?
Please ask us to. An hour walking a unit before you sign tells you whether the electrical service, the ceiling height, the drainage, the ventilation and the landlord’s restrictions suit your business. It is the cheapest risk reduction available in this whole process, and it has talked clients out of more than one bad lease.
Sectors
Who we do this for
Your sector decides which details matter. Here's where this service does the most work.
- Restaurants & BarsHoods, grease traps and health-unit sign-off — handled, on the date you open.
- Medical & DentalOperatory rough-ins, lead-lined rooms and infection-control finishes.
- PharmaciesDispensary layout, consult rooms, security and compliance-ready finishes.
- Offices & WorkspacesMeeting rooms, HVAC zoning, cabling and a reception desk worth walking up to.
- Retail StoresStorefronts, glazing and lighting that make the product the hero.
- Salons & SpasWash-station plumbing, real ventilation, and lighting people look good under.
Start your build
Tell us about your space. We'll tell you what it takes.
Tell us about the space and the date you need it open. We'll walk it with you and tell you exactly what it takes.