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Most restaurants and shops in West Palm Beach open in a space someone else built. The job is to turn that leased unit into your business: a new layout, the systems your use needs and finishes that match your brand. That work is called a tenant improvement, and it is what The Cher Group Contractors does in West Palm Beach. Our Florida general contractor license is CBC1265622, and we stay on the job until the final inspection is signed.
How permits work in the City of West Palm Beach
West Palm Beach runs its permitting through EPL, the City’s Enterprise Permitting and Licensing system, which the City describes as a fully digital platform. Its customer-facing side is the Civic Access portal. After registering a profile, applicants use Civic Access to apply for permits, check status, pay fees, resubmit for plan review, download the permit card and approved plans, and schedule inspections.
Before a project is submitted, the City also offers a Planning & Permitting Research Tool. It checks a proposed project against zoning, walks through the scope of work, lists the permits likely to be required and gives a rough fee estimate. The City is clear that the report is a guide, not a permit application. We use it early, alongside your lease review, so nobody is surprised by a zoning question halfway through design.
We keep our contractor registration with the City current.
Restaurant tenant improvements in West Palm Beach
A restaurant TI centers on the kitchen. The hood and fire suppression, the grease interceptor, floor sinks, gas and the electrical load of the cook line decide most of the budget. In a second-generation restaurant, some of these may be reusable; in a shell, all of them are new. We check them before you sign so the lease and the budget line up. Restaurant work is led by Christian Hernandez, who has more than 15 years of restaurant construction experience. For more on restaurant jobs in the city, see our restaurant contractor in West Palm Beach page.
Retail tenant improvements in West Palm Beach
A retail TI centers on the selling floor: the layout, display lighting, power and data at the register, fitting rooms, the stockroom and the storefront. Fixture and signage vendors have to be scheduled around inspections. Our retail build-outs page covers this work in more detail.
An example of how a West Palm Beach TI runs
Here is how a typical job moves, step by step. (This is an illustration of our process, not a description of a specific past project.)
- You send us the address of a unit you are considering. We look at it with you and note the existing systems.
- We run the address through the City’s Research Tool with you to see what permits the scope will likely need.
- Your architect and engineers prepare drawings; we review them for buildability and cost.
- The permit is submitted through Civic Access, and we track and answer plan review comments.
- Construction starts: demolition, rough-ins and inspections, then finishes.
- Final inspections, close-out documents, and you open.
Questions West Palm Beach tenants ask
Where are West Palm Beach building permits submitted?
Through the City’s Civic Access portal, the public side of its EPL permitting system.
Can I see which permits my project needs before I apply?
The City’s Planning & Permitting Research Tool gives a list of likely permits and a rough fee estimate. It is a planning guide, not an application.
Call about your space
Call (305) 290-3323 with the address. We carry all insurance required by the State of Florida. See also tenant improvements across Palm Beach County and Broward.