Professional Office Fit-Out — Richmond Hill | GTA Commercial Renovation Case Study

Project type

Full interior fit-out of a professional office suite, taken from bare shell to move-in ready.

Location

Richmond Hill, Ontario.

Approximate scope

Roughly 1,400 square feet delivered in five weeks — private offices behind frosted glass partitions, an open work area, a central corridor with interior windows, a kitchenette and a washroom. Turnkey cost worked out to approximately $100,000, or about $71 per square foot.

Frameless frosted glass partition wall and luxury vinyl plank flooring in a completed 1,400 sf Richmond Hill office fit-out — Completed private office — frameless frosted glass partition with a clear band at eye level, so the room keeps its privacy without blocking light.

Where we started

The unit came to us as an existing tenant space that had to be stripped back before anything new could be laid out.

Bare commercial office space in Richmond Hill before renovation begins, ahead of a 1,400 sf fit-out by Buildup Contracting — Before — the existing space on day one.

Commercial unit stripped back to bare shell after demolition during a Richmond Hill office fit-out — After demolition — back to slab, block and open structure, ready for the new layout.

Scope of work

Demolition and removal of the existing partitions, ceiling and finishes
Steel stud framing for private offices, corridor and service rooms
Electrical and plumbing rough-in coordinated ahead of board
Drywall, taping and paint throughout
Frameless frosted glass partition walls and glass office doors
Interior windows along the main corridor to carry daylight into the core
Luxury vinyl plank flooring throughout
Suspended T-bar ceiling with LED panels and recessed pot lights
Kitchenette millwork — white upper and base cabinetry with a dark countertop and stainless sink
Full washroom with vanity, mirror and fixtures

Steel stud framing laid out for private office partition walls during a Richmond Hill office build-out — Steel stud framing going up. Partition lines were set early so the glass openings could be measured off real framing rather than drawings.

The finished suite

The layout is built around glass. Private offices are enclosed for acoustic separation, but the partitions are glazed and the corridor carries interior windows, so daylight from the perimeter reaches the middle of the floor plate instead of stopping at the first wall.

Finished open-plan work area with recessed pot lighting and grey vinyl plank flooring in Richmond Hill — Open work area — recessed pot lights on a clean ceiling plane, vinyl plank flooring running through.

Glass-walled meeting room with recessed pot lighting in a finished Richmond Hill office fit-out — Meeting room enclosed on two sides in glass, with a frameless glass door.

Frameless glass entry door leading into a private office with vinyl plank flooring — Frameless glass entry into a private office — no frame, so the opening reads as part of the wall.

Bright office corridor with interior windows carrying daylight through a completed Richmond Hill office fit-out — Main corridor — interior windows on both sides pull borrowed light into a space that would otherwise be a dark hallway.

Office kitchenette with white cabinetry, open shelving and a dark countertop built during a Richmond Hill office fit-out — Kitchenette — white upper and base cabinetry with open shelving and a dark countertop, built to the alcove rather than dropped in as stock casework.

Timeline

Five weeks from start of demolition to a move-in-ready suite, with framing, mechanical rough-in, board and finishes sequenced so no trade waited on the one ahead of it.

Outcome

A bright, professional office suite delivered on schedule at roughly $71 per square foot — a useful benchmark for tenants pricing an office build-out in Richmond Hill and across the GTA. Office fit-outs sit well below restaurant build-out rates because the cost is in glass, millwork, lighting and finishes rather than kitchen ventilation, gas and health-department approvals.

Professional Office Fit-Out — Richmond Hill