How to Judge an Architecture Firm for a Tenant Improvement
A tenant improvement can succeed or stall on the firm you choose. Price and portfolio images will not tell you whether a space meets code, whether the occupancy classification is correct, or whether MEP and ADA obligations have been coordinated. That is why this guide treats commercial architecture as a buyer-side evaluation, not a scope overview. You will learn what proof to request. We will cover why price and portfolio do not predict a smooth project, how occupancy classification shapes every requirement, and when a change of use triggers a new Certificate of Occupancy. You will also get five pieces of evidence: occupancy-type experience, a licensed architect on staff, MEP and ADA coordination, permit history in your specific Colorado jurisdiction, and the locally adopted code edition for your address. We include a checklist, red flags, and what local design-build experience adds. Our firm brings 35 years of local Colorado code, zoning, and building-condition experience across custom home design, second-story and pop-top additions, ADUs, and tenant improvements, with a licensed architect and contractor under one roof in Louisville, Boulder, Broomfield, and the Denver metro. If you are planning a tenant improvement, start with a free consultation.
Why Price and Portfolio Do Not Predict a Smooth Tenant Improvement
Two variables decide whether a tenant improvement runs smoothly: the code obligations tied to your occupancy classification, and how tightly MEP and accessibility work are coordinated. Neither shows up in a portfolio photo or a discounted fee proposal.
Colorado has no statewide building code; local jurisdictions adopt their own editions. The state's role is limited to exceptions such as K-12 schools and health facilities (Colorado Office of the State Architect). A firm that rarely works in your city may learn your jurisdiction's amendments on your project.
Ask a low bidder which occupancy group they used on their last comparable tenant improvement. A slow answer usually means fee savings resurface later in plan review and construction.
Submittals are design deliverables, not paperwork. A Colorado commercial permit submittal guide requires last and proposed occupancy, construction type, sprinkler status, occupant load, exit calculations, plumbing fixture counts, and an egress plan at 1/16 inch to the foot.
Rank commercial architects on drawings and permits for your use type in your jurisdiction, not price.
Occupancy Classification: The One Answer That Sets Every Other Requirement
Next question: occupancy classification. It sets every requirement that follows.
Chapter 3 of the International Building Code requires every building and tenant space to carry an occupancy classification based on its use; that classification governs life-safety requirements that follow and moves the fee range on your project.
Classification determines sprinkler and fire protection requirements, egress design, exit counts, and occupant load. Occupant load is real arithmetic: Douglas County lists 15 square feet per person for conference, training, and reception areas, and rooms above 49 occupants require two exits.
Small differences flip the group. PPRBD's Basic Occupancy Classification handout notes assembly spaces under 50 persons are classed as Group B, and accessory assembly rooms under 750 square feet may fall under Group B. A 40-person breakroom and a 60-person training room are different projects.
Put the question in writing: which occupancy group will you assign my space, and what does that change about exits, sprinklers, alarms, and plumbing fixtures?
When a Change of Use Triggers a New Certificate of Occupancy
If the answer differs from the classification already on your space, you may face a change of use. When the proposed use falls outside the existing classification, the space may need full code compliance and a new Certificate of Occupancy. PPRBD advises bringing in a licensed architect or engineer when the use changes.
Ask for the existing Certificate of Occupancy before design begins. In many Colorado jurisdictions, permit records are searchable by address and link to current CO status, confirming what the space is legally approved for today.
Triggers include restaurants, gyms, medical and dental clinics, childcare, assembly uses, and dense seating or unusual occupant loads. See our Firestone tenant improvement notes for a local example.
Then test the proposal: does it include a code analysis comparing existing and proposed occupancy, or quietly assume the same classification? If change is possible, ask how permit strategy shifts and whether the shell's construction type and sprinkler status support the new use.
Evidence 1: Occupancy-Type Experience, Not Portfolio Aesthetics
Start with the next proof you should request: occupancy-type experience. Ask for two or three comparable projects organized by occupancy group, not by how the photos look. For each, request the address, the occupancy classification, and the permitting jurisdiction. Then ask for the stamped cover sheet and the approved permit number. Permit records are public in most Colorado jurisdictions, so you can verify the claim instead of accepting it on faith.
Ask what plan review flagged and how it was resolved. Genuine experience surfaces in review comments and resubmittals. Match the use type closely. A firm fluent in office build-outs may never have solved a commercial kitchen exhaust hood, a clinic's systems, or assembly exit design. Confirm who will be the architect of record and whether that person has personally completed projects in your occupancy group. You can also review common project questions when comparing firms.
Evidence 2: A Licensed Architect on Staff, Not Just a Drafting Service
Once occupancy-type experience is confirmed, verify who actually seals the drawings. Colorado ties a stamp to a named, licensed individual and requires work prepared under that architect's responsible control. Ask for the sealing architect's name and license number, then confirm the license is current and tied to someone inside the firm.
A principal's license that never touches your project is not the same as an architect on your team. Ask who performs the code analysis and who reviews the final set. In a design-build model, design and estimating sit under one roof, shortening the distance between a drawn detail and confirmation that it is buildable and affordable.
Be cautious when every technical discipline is outsourced with no internal coordination. Handoffs between architect, MEP engineers, and contractor are where occupancy-based mistakes surface. Confirm the architect's post-permit role too: submittal review, RFI responses, and site observation during construction. Our questions to ask your architect before permit submission can structure that conversation.
Evidence 3: How MEP and ADA Obligations Get Coordinated
MEP scope follows occupancy, not the other way around. Occupant load sets plumbing fixture counts, and occupancy classification drives sprinkler and alarm requirements, so mechanical, electrical, and plumbing design must follow the code analysis.
Accessibility runs the same way. ICC A117.1 provisions referenced by your adopted code shape restroom layouts, door clearances, path-of-travel widths, signage, and reach ranges. These belong in the drawings, including ADA compliance obligations that go beyond the space being renovated, not corrected in the field.
Two questions separate prepared firms from hopeful ones:
Do you run an internal coordination review before submittal, or leave conflict resolution to the contractor during construction? Coordination gaps are a leading source of change orders.
How are MEP consultants engaged, and who owns conflict resolution? One accountable point of contact beats three teams trading emails while the schedule slips.
Then request fixture count calculations, occupant load tables, and an egress plan from a comparable tenant improvement, even redacted.
Evidence 4: Permit History in Your Specific Colorado Jurisdiction
Ask which jurisdictions the firm has permitted in over the last 24 months. Boulder County, the City of Boulder, Louisville, Broomfield, Erie, and Denver each run separate reviews and portals; Why Boulder Isn't a Typical Permitting Environment shows how local the requirements get. One does not transfer to another.
Permit history is public and checkable. PPRBD lets you search by address, and records link to the current Certificate of Occupancy. Verify the permit numbers a firm gives you rather than accepting a project list.
Ask whether the firm holds an active portal account and submittal history in your jurisdiction. Reviewers recognize repeat applicants, and familiarity with their correction patterns is a practical advantage.
Ask what trips up out-of-area firms: separate fire district review, county health department approval for food service, and different submittal checklists from one city to the next.
Request the review sequence: which approvals come first, which run in parallel, and who responds to plan review comments.
Evidence 5: The Locally Adopted Code Edition for Your Address
Permit history proves jurisdiction familiarity; code editions prove current knowledge. These differ locally across the Front Range. One Colorado county cites the 2021 IBC, 2021 IMC, 2023 NEC, and 2018 IECC; state Building Code Compliance Policy references 2026 revisions. Confirm what your jurisdiction enforces now, not what a firm used last year.
Superseded references are a warning sign: the 2021 IBC pages on the ICC site are marked historical. Citing "the IBC" without an edition or local amendments is not a code analysis.
Ask the firm to state in writing the adopted edition and local amendments for your address, and how it tracks changes, including whether it keeps a per-jurisdiction reference sheet. This is the same discipline behind how a firm handles Colorado-specific code requirements in-house. Firms that guess at editions invite avoidable plan review corrections. Confirm whether your project sits under a state exception, such as K-12 schools, health facilities, or certain manufactured, hotel, motel, and multifamily buildings.
The Tenant Improvement Evaluation Checklist for Commercial Architecture Firms
With the edition confirmed, apply the same standard to every commercial architecture firm you interview for your tenant improvement. Ask each to answer these six questions in writing.
Occupancy: Which occupancy group will you assign my space, and does it match the existing Certificate of Occupancy?
Licensing: Who is the architect of record, what is their license number, and will they personally sign my drawings?
Jurisdiction: Which Front Range jurisdictions have you permitted in over the past two years, and can you provide permit numbers I can look up?
Code basis: Which adopted edition and local amendments apply to my address, and how do you track changes to them?
Coordination and deliverables: How do you coordinate MEP and accessibility requirements, who is accountable, and will your fee include occupant load calculations, exit and egress plans, and fixture counts?
Process and references: Who handles plan review comments, and can I speak with two tenant clients whose occupancy type matches mine?
Score answers on specificity and verifiability, not confidence. Permit numbers and named license holders are evidence. General assurances are not. Use the same checklist for every firm, then compare.
Red Flags in the Answers You Get
Your checklist questions will surface problems quickly. Watch for these answers:
Vague occupancy answers. "It is just a build-out," or "the city will tell us what is needed," instead of naming an occupancy group and what it changes for exits, sprinklers, and fixtures.
No license number. Or a license held by a principal who will not seal your drawings.
No permit numbers. Reluctance to share addresses you could verify through public records suggests a thinner project history than described.
Fees that exclude code analysis, egress plans, or MEP coordination while claiming full scope. That cost does not vanish; it returns as change orders.
No questions back. A firm that never asks about headcount, operating hours, equipment, storage, or customer flow cannot correctly size exits, ventilation, or power.
Any single flag is a caution; two or more should end the conversation. The commercial architecture firms worth shortlisting answer with specifics and ask for yours.
What Local Design-Build Experience Adds to the Evaluation
A firm's own setup matters too, provided you hold it to the same standard. BSA Inc. Design & Construction is a Louisville, Colorado firm that pairs in-house architectural design with hands-on construction experience. Founder Barry Shaw is both a licensed architect and a general contractor, which puts code knowledge and buildability under one roof. The firm reports 35 years of combined design and construction experience across tenant improvements, commercial buildings, hospitality, educational facilities, and adaptive reuse, serving Boulder County and the Denver metro including Louisville, Broomfield, Boulder, and Erie.
One team handling occupancy analysis, drawings, and construction trims the handoffs between the code decision and the finished space, the point where tenant improvement schedules most often stall. BSA also offers a free initial consultation with a preliminary design and estimate, a low-risk way to run any local firm through the checklist above before committing.
Apply that same evaluation to every firm you interview, this one included. The framework only works if you ask identical questions and verify identical evidence each time.
Judge the Evidence, Then Decide
Apply the same evidence test to every firm. The right commercial architecture firm for your tenant improvement has already solved your occupancy type and permitted in your jurisdiction, and can show the drawings and permit records to prove it.
Treat price and renderings as inputs, not answers. Occupancy-based code obligations and coordination between disciplines drive your schedule far more than fee level or portfolio polish.
Get five items in writing: your occupancy group; the architect of record and license number; the MEP and accessibility coordination plan; verifiable permit numbers; and the locally adopted code edition for your address.
Verify what you are told. Permit records are public by address in many Colorado jurisdictions, and the record typically links to the current Certificate of Occupancy.
Want those answers from a local team? BSA Inc. offers a free initial consultation and a preliminary design and estimate you can take to bids.
Conclusion
Judging an architecture firm for a tenant improvement starts with evidence, not price or portfolio polish. Confirm your occupancy group, the architect of record and license number, MEP and ADA coordination, permit history, and the locally adopted code edition. Ask every firm the same questions, then verify the answers against public records. A design-build team with a licensed architect and contractor under one roof can align code decisions with construction realities. BSA Inc. brings 35 years of local Colorado zoning and code experience in Boulder County and the Denver metro, including Louisville, Boulder, and Broomfield. Whether your next project is a tenant improvement, custom home design, second-story or pop-top addition, or ADU, begin with a free initial consultation and preliminary design and estimate. Then decide with confidence.
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