Getting the Perfect Business Premises

Getting commercial building premises right the first time – by asking the right questions 

If you are a progressive, ambitious business on the lookout for newer, bigger, better premises, how do you know that what you are buying or leasing will be suitable, nay perfect, for your business? 

It’s a tricky one – no one can see into the future. However, there are some standard questions to ask, and some strict regulations to follow. 

As the business owner or manager, ask yourself these questions about your next commercial building plans or office building plans: 
•   Where should your business be? Location, location, location… 
•   Are you looking for large volumes of passing traffic? 
•   Do you need access to public transport? 
•   Do you need a considerable amount of public parking? 
•   Does your product need showroom space? 
•   Do you require access for delivery vehicles? 
•   Are you needing a workshop for maintaining vehicles? 
•   Is office space more of a consideration rather than retail space? 
•   What sort of customer facilities do you need? 

And so on. The list can be endless, depending on the type of business you have. It’s vital to have a commercial building designer who knows exactly which of these questions to ask, which ones take priority, and how the answers all come together to result in a property that is perfect for your business. 

From small commercial building design through to structural building design on a larger scale, the questions must be asked. 

In terms of regulations? Your key responsibility as a building owner or occupier is to maintain the premise and its use in a lawful manner compliant with the relevant approvals that have been issued. There are more questions to be asked. 

Such as, “do you have -”: 
•   A relevant planning approval?
•   A relevant certificate of classification? 
•   A compliant plumbing and drainage approval? 
•   A trade waste permit?
•   An environmentally relevant activity approval? 

And actually, which of these do you need? 

As boring as legislation is, we need to follow it to the letter.  Particularly when it comes to commercial office building plans and designs. 

The construction, use and maintenance of every building is government by more laws rules and regulations than we can list here. One thing we can simplify for you though is that all development work in Queensland is carried out under the framework set down by the Sustainable Planning Act. this replaces the Integrated Planning Act, that was introduced to streamline development practices but after 10 years of amendments, it was necessary to start again with the newly named legislation. 

So let’s not get further into the regulation side of commercial building designs and office plans today. This article is about knowing which questions to ask when you are starting to look for that perfect place to house your business, the ideal office or retail space, so that all your processes and procedures can run smoothly, and your business can flourish. 

If you need someone to help you ask the right questions, and understand the legislation for you, look no further, and get in touch. We are award-winning building designers, and we know how to make this journey far less stressful than it could be.