Thursday, October 30, 2014

Property Managers - Lease Plans Available

Creating lease plans from existing drawings, or field measurements, seems like something anyone can do. But hiring someone experienced in designing new buildings, additions and remodels to existing buildings to create these plans can help you in many ways. Many assumptions made by novice drafters, result in inaccurate plans, and area calculations. An architect can accurately measure, draft in a program that's useable to potential tenant designers/architects, and ensure you are charging for all leaseable spaces. BOMA rules to calculate usable, leaseable, and common areas require knowing how to measure the spaces: sometimes from inside face of wall or glass or face of mullion depending on window sill height, center of some walls, the face of finish on others, etc.

Benefits to potential and current Tenants:

  • Potential clients rely on accurate plans to determine if they can make it work.
  • With plans available, you can offer discounted design services.
  • Negotiate for additional space, using accurate plans.
  • Tenant improvement projects proceed faster having existing plans.
Other uses include:


  • fire egress plans
  • long-term planning
  • use in maintenance programs (carpet areas, roof areas, etc)

CAD/BIM permits endless formats and sizes:

  • Overall building plan
  • Site plan
  • Individual suite plans
  • Tenant remodeling areas
  • 8x11, 11x17, 22x34
  • PDF, JPG, TIFF - digital archives.
Benefits to You:

  • Save you countless hours measuring and guessing areas for various reasons.
  • Save potentially thousands of dollars on contracted maintenance by knowing your SF
  • Get it done now, start saving money each year you hold the building.
  • Digital plans are very valuable if you plan to sell the property.


Give me a call - I love creating as-built drawings from plans or field measurements.

This is a screen shot of four lease-plans - still being refined - for a business office center in St. Paul.


Wednesday, October 29, 2014

It's a Brick....House (well, Tavern)

Not much to look at from the exterior in terms of the kitchen addition I am addin to this original Waconia Hospital building. The last addition was a simple brick extension, we are continuing it on, with a few copied details. Thought was to let the Hospital detailing remain.

It is always a challenge to work in a historic downtown. While this is not Excelsior, there are still many requirements to be met while seeking Site Plan Review and Architectural Design Review.

If this passes, then I have a plethora of code remedies to solve, and finally get to help design the restaurant interiors, plan a stair to future roof top dining, and use of some of the low-headroom storage space in the old basement. FUN FUN!





Factory Layout

I really enjoy using the problem solving skills I have developed over the last 20 years to help design a new manufacturing facility (tenant improvement).

Life safety is always important, but that can be fully solved only after the material-flow and process equipment sequence has been perfected.

This is the first concept for this potential building. As the process is still in R&D in another full size location w/ a lab, I doubt it will (ever) be the last.

Made in Minnesota, by Minnesotan's.