Returning to Full Capacity, is Your Building Ready?
Navigating through the pandemic between COVID-19, Delta-Variant, and Omicron and the aftermath has been one of the most significant challenges many businesses faced. Most companies adopted new ways of working to keep operations going, leaving offices, factories, stores, and restaurants empty.
Now, two years later, the world looks much different. As more businesses open their offices, factories, stores, restaurants, etc., to their employees, management teams are responsible for leading their companies through fast-moving changes.
This is also true for many properties and facility managers. With this surge of tenants returning to full capacity, it’s imperative to prepare your properties for their return.
Is Your Building Ready?
When COVID-19 spread quickly throughout the U.S and the world, many businesses vacated their spaces to begin working from home, leaving buildings left unused for a long time. An empty property goes through many transitions, and rezoning and maintaining and bringing the property back to the norm for occupancy can be challenging. It’s essential to ensure that the building is safe and healthy for everyone before allowing your tenants to come back. Here are a few crucial steps to prepare your property for your tenants.
Perform an Inspection
Before you can welcome your tenants back to their space, either conduct or hire someone to inspect your property. Have them look both on the interior and exterior to ensure that doors and windows, HVAC and plumbing, and other safety features are working correctly. Check the condition of the walls and paint to see if it needs to be updated. Also, note any landscaping that needs to be refreshed or replanted.
Schedule Necessary Repairs
Once the inspection has been completed, schedule any repairs needed to remove any damage or defects. Before hiring the repair contractors, review the cost and be sure they can dedicate their time to handling your project. It can help prevent any delays, knowing that you are their priority.
Make Necessary Updates
Once your property has gone through the necessary inspection and repairs, this is an excellent time to make any additional updates to your property. Check to make sure all fixtures are functional and if any lights need to be replaced. This would also be an excellent time to consider switching over to LED lighting to help lower energy costs for you and the tenant. Depending on the setup of your space, you may need to install more outlets, put up walls, or tear some down. Assess your space and prioritize updates that will have the most significant impact. You might decide to make cosmetic updates, such as painting the walls or replacing worn carpet.
If you have exposed floorboards in your commercial space that have not been maintained properly, the foundation may not be strong. It should be slip-resistant, easy to maintain, and tie the area with the surrounding décor. In many commercial buildings, foot traffic is heavy, so upgrading to a heavy sturdier flooring can help prevent any injuries.
Look into hiring a commercial painter and contractor to help with the new paint jobs and flooring installations.
Do A Deep Clean
The last and final thing your commercial space needs for your tenants to return is a deep clean. Hire a professional cleaning crew to move around any workstations or cabinets to clear the dust, remove stains, and clean all the hard-to-reach places. Pay close attention to carpets, vacuum, and do a deep cleanse to remove any allergens that may be embedded.
Clean any dirt and debris from windows and ceiling fans if you have them. And do forget to freshen up the restrooms. No one wants to walk into a bathroom after months of the vacant building and see any dirt or grime build-up.
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