The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety recently launched the Fast-Track Office Tenant Improvements Program.
The effort is a response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting market demand “to reconfigure, retrofit, and/or reprogram existing workplaces, retail sites, and commercial office buildings for healthy, safer, and more equitable interior spaces,” according to a news release. The department offers its E-Plan portal to help fast-track the permitting and approval process for tenant improvement projects.
The department developed the plan after gathering input from local architects and building owners and managers. “This program serves residents, visitors, and those whose livelihoods depend on safe and rapid re-opening of commercial spaces,” said Wade Killefer, FAIA, president, AIA Los Angeles. “Fast-tracking these improvements means important and necessary adjustments can be benefited from more rapidly.”
The program is available to all licensed architects and engineers who wish to participate. Projects are limited in scope to basic tenant improvements or office fit-outs only.
Related Stories
Codes and Standards | Apr 28, 2020
ASHRAE, WELL panels to tackle revising standards to limit spread of viruses in buildings
Will examine ways to reduce infectious threats through building designs and operations.
Codes and Standards | Apr 24, 2020
Dept. of Labor issues guidance for respiratory protection during N95 shortage
Elastomeric respirators or powered, air-purifying respirators, and expired N95s are allowable alternatives
Codes and Standards | Apr 23, 2020
Group will create ecosystem for smart building data
Seven Finnish companies aim to integrate all technical systems into a single platform.
Codes and Standards | Apr 23, 2020
COVID-19 epidemic demonstrates value of flexible hospital space
Some rooms being repurposed for ICU care.
Codes and Standards | Apr 15, 2020
Embodied carbon footprint can be reduced by using conventional materials
High-SCM concrete, and cellulose and wood fiber insulation among the greener alternatives.
Coronavirus | Apr 13, 2020
COVID-19 alert: City conducts a 'virtual building inspection' to allow Starbucks and bank to open
Bothell, Wash., issues a certificate of occupancy to developer after inspecting the property online.
Codes and Standards | Apr 13, 2020
Design competition focuses on reducing urban heat island effect
Cool Abu Dhabi aims to transform urban life in the Middle East.
Codes and Standards | Apr 13, 2020
What building science says about reducing COVID-19 transmission
Impact of temperature and relative humidity is unclear.
Codes and Standards | Apr 9, 2020
Owners retrofitting properties, monitoring performance during epidemic
Covid-19 outbreak may lead employers to reevaluate office commitments.
Codes and Standards | Apr 7, 2020
Dept. of Labor publishes guidance on paid sick leave, expanded family and medical leave
Includes fact sheets for employees, employers, and a questions and answers document.