A tenant improvement schedule starts before demolition. The first useful dates are tied to lease review, site feasibility, landlord approval, design decisions, and the permit path. An opening target becomes credible only after the team understands the existing suite, the intended use, and who controls each approval.

If you need a primer on the work itself, read NorthPoint’s tenant improvement guide. This timeline focuses on the sequence from lease review through turnover. It does not assign a standard number of weeks because the work varies by jurisdiction, occupancy, building systems, landlord requirements, agency reviews, procurement, and conditions found in the space.

1. Start the timeline while the lease and work letter are under review

The construction team should see the proposed space before the lease language and landlord work letter are treated as settled. A walk-through cannot replace legal review, but it can expose construction questions that affect the deal: what the landlord will deliver, what the tenant must build, which existing systems can be used, and what must be removed when the lease ends.

Create a responsibility matrix for design, permit fees, utility work, after-hours access, elevator or loading-dock use, debris removal, insurance documents, building-system shutdowns, landlord reviews, and closeout. Record who approves changes and how long each approval remains valid. If the lease and construction scope use different descriptions for the same work, resolve the mismatch before pricing or scheduling.

The companion guide to a construction scope of work explains why the improvement contract and lease obligations need a clear boundary. Have qualified legal and real-estate advisers review the lease terms; the contractor’s role is to identify buildability, sequence, and construction risk.

The first schedule gate

Do not treat possession, early access, construction access, and permission to alter the space as interchangeable. The schedule should state which right is required for surveying, destructive investigation, material delivery, and field work. No irreversible work should be released until the party with approval authority has signed off and any required permit is in hand.

2. Test the proposed use against the actual suite

Feasibility begins with the intended business use and the space as it exists, not the broker plan alone. Verify field dimensions and document the condition of walls, ceilings, restrooms, exits, accessible routes, electrical service, HVAC distribution, plumbing locations, fire alarm and sprinkler coverage, and any equipment that will remain.

Then compare the intended layout and operations with those conditions. A new sink, cooking appliance, treatment room, high electrical load, altered exit path, or denser occupant layout can change the design and review path. If the intended use or scope raises a structural, environmental, or specialty-system question, bring in the appropriate licensed professional before assuming the space is ready.

Utah’s current State Construction Code applies adopted standards to building construction, alteration, remodeling, and repair. The effective Utah Code provision identifies the editions in force from July 1 through December 31, 2026. Local officials and the project’s design professionals should confirm which provisions and amendments apply to a specific permit.

What feasibility should produce

  • A written existing-condition record with photos, measurements, and known system capacities.
  • A list of unanswered questions assigned to the landlord, tenant, designer, contractor, utility, or reviewing agency.
  • A preliminary scope that separates confirmed work from allowances, alternates, and investigation items.
  • A decision on whether the space can support the intended use without changes that defeat the lease or opening plan.

3. Turn the work letter into a coordinated design

Programming converts business operations into rooms, circulation, equipment, storage, customer access, staff needs, and building-system demands. The layout should be tested before finish selections take over the conversation. Moving a wall on paper is easier than moving power, plumbing, ductwork, and fire protection after trade drawings are underway.

The design schedule should name the decision makers and the approval order. A common sequence is tenant programming, test fit, landlord review, design development, engineering coordination, permit documents, and final landlord approval. The actual order may differ under the lease or city process, so record the required sequence instead of assuming reviews can run in parallel.

Accessibility belongs in the first layout review. The U.S. Department of Justice explains that the ADA Standards cover alterations that affect usability. The project team should review routes, doors, counters, restrooms, and other affected elements with the architect and code officials rather than leaving access questions for the final inspection.

4. Confirm the permit jurisdiction and every outside review

Utah County is not one permit office. The project address, city boundaries, scope, and business use determine the authority having jurisdiction and the approvals required. Confirm the building department, planning or zoning review, fire authority, utility coordination, health review, business licensing, and any landlord design-review process before setting permit milestones.

Provo provides one city-specific example. Its Building Division’s tenant-finish process starts with zoning verification and directs applicants to a building permit, commercial plan-review documents, and business-license registration. The linked Provo tenant-finish checklist asks for code analysis and architectural, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, accessibility, ceiling, structural, and fire-protection information. Those are Provo requirements, not a countywide checklist.

Lehi uses its own process. The city’s Building and Inspections page directs permit applications to its portal, publishes separate commercial tenant-finish and remodel checklists, and gives inspection scheduling instructions. Lehi also identifies separate fire plan review and acceptance testing for applicable systems. A project in Orem, American Fork, Pleasant Grove, Saratoga Springs, or another jurisdiction needs the corresponding local check.

Use-specific reviews can add another dependency. For food-service work, the Utah County Health Department provides a health-permit and plan-review application. Similar agency questions should be identified during feasibility, not after the building set is submitted.

Why permit duration cannot be promised

Review time depends on the jurisdiction’s current workload, whether the submittal is complete, the number and substance of comments, resubmittal quality, and any linked planning, fire, utility, or health approvals. Track acceptance, first comments, response submission, approval, fee payment, and permit issuance as separate milestones. A portal upload is not the same as an accepted or issued permit.

5. Release procurement when its inputs are stable

Procurement should follow the approval risk. Standard items may be released after scope and selection approval. Custom millwork, equipment, storefront components, lighting packages, controls, and other dimension-sensitive items may need approved drawings, field verification, or trade coordination first. Ordering too early can trade a lead-time concern for a wrong-size or wrong-specification problem.

Build a procurement log that records the required-on-site date, submittal status, approval owner, field-measure requirement, current vendor information, storage plan, and installation predecessor. Tie each release to the schedule activity that makes it safe to order. Update the log when design changes, reviewer comments, or field conditions alter the specification.

Before contract award, verify that the proposed contractor and regulated trades hold the licenses required for their work. Utah’s DOPL Licensee Lookup and Verification System allows searches by name, profession, or license number. License verification is one due-diligence step; the owner and tenant should also review insurance, scope, exclusions, schedule duties, and change procedures.

6. Build in the order inspections and access require

Mobilization should begin with a site logistics plan: access hours, occupied-area separation, temporary protection, shutdown procedures, delivery routes, waste handling, security, and communication with the property manager. The permit set, landlord rules, and approved construction documents should be available to the field team.

The field sequence usually moves through selective demolition, verification of exposed conditions, framing and overhead coordination, mechanical/electrical/plumbing/fire-protection rough-in, required rough inspections, wall and ceiling closure, finishes, equipment setting, controls, testing, and final inspections. The exact sequence changes with the suite, scope, and inspection plan.

When demolition reveals a conflict, document it before covering or redesigning around it. Identify who must decide, whether the designer or city must review the change, and which downstream work is blocked. The schedule should show the decision deadline and affected activities instead of hiding the issue inside a revised completion date.

7. Plan inspections as production milestones

Create an inspection matrix from the approved documents and the reviewing agencies’ requirements. For each inspection, list the responsible trade, prerequisite work, approved details that must be visible, testing or documentation needed, scheduling method, and work that cannot proceed until approval.

Inspect the work internally before calling the authority. An inspection requested before the area is ready can push every dependent trade. Keep approved plans and revisions on site, record results, and assign corrections with a new readiness check. If field work departs from the approved set, resolve the documentation and approval path before the final sequence.

Building, fire, health, utility, and landlord inspections may not occur in the same visit or under the same authority. The project schedule should name each required signoff and avoid using a single vague milestone called “final inspection.”

8. Separate punch work, closeout, and permission to occupy

A finished-looking suite may still have open corrections, incomplete testing, missing closeout documents, or outstanding agency approvals. Start the contractor punch list before the tenant and landlord walk the space. Then track owner, tenant, designer, and landlord observations without mixing warranty requests with incomplete contract work.

Closeout requirements depend on the contract, lease, systems, and jurisdiction. They may include inspection signoffs, testing records, operation manuals, warranties, keys and access credentials, attic stock, approved changes, training, lien documentation, and landlord forms. Decide who assembles each item before turnover week.

Do not assume key delivery authorizes business operations. Confirm the building official’s occupancy requirements, fire clearance, health approval where applicable, business licensing, and landlord acceptance for the specific address and use. The final schedule should distinguish construction completion, agency approval, landlord acceptance, tenant move-in, and public opening.

The variables that move a Utah County TI schedule

A useful timeline is built around dependencies, not a borrowed week count. Review these variables before setting an opening target and again at every schedule update:

  • Existing condition: raw shell, previously occupied suite, partial demolition, or work left by another tenant.
  • Use and occupancy: office, retail, food service, medical, assembly, warehouse, or another operating model.
  • Approval path: tenant decisions, landlord review, design revisions, city review, fire review, utilities, and specialty agencies.
  • Building systems: available electrical service, HVAC capacity and controls, plumbing routes, gas, fire alarm, sprinklers, and data.
  • Procurement: approved selections, field measurements, fabrication, shipping, delivery access, storage, and installation readiness.
  • Site conditions: concealed work, incomplete records, occupied neighbors, noise limits, access hours, shutdown windows, and weather-sensitive exterior work.
  • Change control: how quickly questions are answered, who may approve cost or scope changes, and whether revisions require agency or landlord review.

Each variable should have an owner, a due date, and a consequence. If a decision has no owner, it is not a schedule activity; it is an untracked risk.

Build the milestone schedule around evidence

Set target dates only after each milestone has a defined completion test. The following gates keep the schedule honest:

  1. Lease and work-letter responsibilities are documented, with construction access and approval authority confirmed.
  2. The site and intended use have passed the agreed feasibility review, with open investigations assigned.
  3. Tenant, landlord, and design approvals required for permit submission are complete.
  4. The permit package has been accepted by the correct jurisdiction and all linked agency reviews are tracked.
  5. Permit issuance and any required preconstruction approvals are confirmed before field work begins.
  6. Procurement releases are tied to approved inputs and installation dates.
  7. Construction activities are tied to inspection, testing, and access prerequisites.
  8. Punch work, closeout documents, agency approvals, landlord acceptance, and turnover are tracked as separate gates.

Update the schedule with facts: current approval status, current procurement information, completed inspections, documented field conditions, and decisions still outstanding. Do not compress unverified review or delivery time merely to preserve an earlier opening date.

Talk through the project before the lease clock takes over

NorthPoint provides commercial construction and tenant-improvement support in Utah County. Businesses and property teams can also review the company’s city-specific pages for Orem tenant improvements and Provo tenant improvements.

If you are reviewing a suite or preparing a build-out, contact NorthPoint Construction to discuss the construction scope, approval path, and schedule dependencies. Bring the proposed lease or work letter, existing plans if available, the intended use, landlord criteria, and the target opening date so the first conversation can focus on what is known and what still needs verification.