major renovation for a commercial property

[Aman Kaur]

we have recently taken over a commercial strip plaza and looking to do well needed major renovations to the building. What do I tell current tenants and how long can i tell them renovation will last? 90 days? 120 days? 

Also how early should i send them notice? Should i give them 30 days notice and tell them to vacate property in 30 days? or should i give them more of a notice?

[Kenny Dahill]

@Aman Kaur, honing my former days as a Construction / Development Manager here.

• Follow Lease:  Reading your post, you are doing major renovations AND looking for new tenants?  Therefore the current tenants have to lease.  Correct?  If so, you must follow the lease.  It will state how much time for Notice to Terminate.
• Accommodations:  Without knowing any scope, is there an opportunity to accommodate the tenants and allow their businesses to still operate? We commonly built temporary entrances, parking, storage, etc. for existing tenants.  It cost the landlord more but it also meant tenants continued to pay rent.  Sometimes it was the only option because of the lease.
• Know Your Actions First:  Before you provide any notification, know your scope and timelines.  Worst case, you had out a 60-day notice and permitting is delayed.  Therefore tenants are leaving and your building is not generating income.  Have your contractor provide a solid schedule and include all the due diligence and permitting.  City departments are busy these days, sometimes reviews can take 4-6 weeks easily!  Plus it is common for multiple rounds of reviews based on corrections.

Best of luck!  It was always a fun challenge having to put together the puzzle pieces for occupied projects.