Commercial vs. Residential Renovations: Navigating Permits for Offices, Stores, and Restaurants
When planning renovations for your own home, the focus is usually on how large the living room should be, whether to have an open-concept kitchen, or what color to choose for the flooring. As long as you’re not removing load-bearing walls, most interior adjustments fall within the realm of private domain freedom. In fact, many minor projects don’t even require complex applications. This experience with home renovations can lead many first-time business owners to mistakenly believe that opening a restaurant or office is simply a scaled-up version of a residential remodel.However, bringing this “residential mindset” into the competitive landscape of commercial spaces often results in a harsh reality check. You might discover that simply converting a ground-floor apartment into a…