McCormick Law’s reputation in Virginia Beach had led to massive growth for the firm. To reflect this growth, the firm wanted to renovate its office, but couldn’t shut down for weeks at a time. If your business is in a similar situation, there is a way to complete a business renovation in Virginia without closing up shop: find a contract who specializing in the art of minimal disruption.
For McCormick Law, they found this in Carlton Building Services. Our team:
- Completed construction while the firm operated business as usual
- Created minimal noise or disruption from the process
- Was always respectful of the firm’s space, clients, and employees
To help you operate business as usual during a renovation in Virginia, we’ve rounded up the essentials for finding a contractor adept at minimizing disruption. Read until the end for how other businesses in Virginia Beach, Newport News, and Chesapeake, Virginia stayed open during construction.
The Essentials for Business Renovation in Virginia
A business renovation in Virginia is a big undertaking. There are a few essentials to ensure it goes smoothly:
- Have a solid vision of what the final renovation will look like
- Be aware of how the renovation relates to your business goals
- Work with a contractor who provides a game plan before starting
These traits are essential whether you decide to stay open or close during construction.
For businesses who want to stay open, you should also:
- Communicate the construction with tenants or employees to manage expectations
- Reflect on what stages will impact work and communicate when those stages will occur with affected personnel
- Be open to phasing, a style of construction where a contractor determines what phases are critical to building structure and completes those first, then completes ones essential to business operations
- Note any days the business may be closed and communicate those dates with your contractor
If you cultivate these six traits before heading into a construction project, it will be easier to stay open throughout.
Business Renovations in Virginia with Minimal Disruptions
Construction has a reputation for being noisy and disruptive, but that doesn’t have to be the case. To learn what non-disruptive construction looks like, explore the five stories of local businesses below.
Newport Crossing Commercial Complex
Newport Crossing Commercial Complex attracts the city’s best businesses as tenants. Their units often undergo renovations between tenants or at the tenants’ request. Yet, the entire complex can’t close for construction projects.
Knowing this, the commercial complex found a contractor who could minimize disruptions and distractions. Their chosen contractor also had excellent communication skills, since projects with a landlord and tennant require open communication between three parties.
Centerville Commerce Park
Two Maids and a Mop were renovating an office unit in Centerville Commerce Park. When their contractor submitted a permit, it was rejected due to a small water meter. The only problem? The complex, not Two Maids and a Mop, owned the water meter.
Because the contractor had completed the office renovation without disrupting other tenants, the commerce park hired them for the water meter project. Fortunately, this contractor could replace the water meter without disrupting other businesses in the complex too.
Bay Lakes Retirement Community
As one of the best retirement communities in Virginia Beach, Bay Lake has a reputation for excellence. They were ready to renovate a large chunk of their complex but wanted to maintain the peaceful, social environment residents expected.
Given our team’s record with the art of minimal disruption, they partner with us on the project.
While these renovations took place, residents continued to live in Bay Lake, and didn’t report any negative changes based on the construction.
At the same time, our team was respectful and communicative. With residents, this looked like helping them with groceries and being friendly faces in the community. For Bay Lake, this transparency equated to weekly updates, photos of the progress, and open communication about the project’s progress.
Ruff House Stay and Play
If your business has slower seasons or “off seasons,” scheduling renovations at that time of year can minimize disruptions too. This was the case for Ruff House Stay and Play in Virginia Beach.
To best serve their customers, Ruff House was cognizant of getting the project done quickly and out-of-season. As part of our usual process, we provide a weekly schedule for all projects. One week, Ruff House was concerned that we wouldn’t finish in time based on the schedule and approached our team about it. We were able to adjust the schedule and finish on time and budget.
Kawaii Corner
Folks go to Lynnhaven Mall for shopping, the movies, and the food court. They don’t go to hear construction. That makes it difficult for storefronts who are renovating their space. Fortunately, the mall often recommends tenants to Carlton Building Services due to our ability to manage construction with disrupting other businesses in the complex.
One such business was Kawaii Corner, the trendsetting store for Korean and Japanese stuffed animals, apparel, and more. Kawaii Corner wanted to maximize their storefront’s space through significant renovations – and they only had seven to eight weeks before their grand opening.
Fortunately, we were able to finish all renovations before the opening event, which had shoppers lined up to enter the store.
How to Find a Contractor who Specializes in the Art of Minimal Disruptions
By now, you’re probably sold on the art of minimal disruption. But how do you find a contractor who fits the bill?
To help, we created a checklist for your contractor search. The right contractor will:
- Have completed commercial renovation projects for other businesses while they remained open
- Be able to talk about how they will minimize disruption at your specific site
- Describe how the process works
- Make you feel confident they can stay within budget and finish by the project deadline
- Provide a detailed plan of action, including efforts to work at off-times or around your busiest seasons
When considering contractors in the Virginia Beach, Hampton Roads, Norfolk, and Chespeake, Virginia area, add Carlton Building Services to your list. We’d love to discuss your specific project and how it can be completed while your business stays open.
