Permit Set

Before anyone swings a hammer, the city needs to approve your plans. The permit set is the drawing package your architect and engineers prepare, showing floor plans, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and accessibility details in enough depth for a plan reviewer to sign off. Once approved, you get your building permit and construction can begin.

How long this takes depends on the jurisdiction and how complete the set is. Chicago tends to take longer than the suburbs, and a set missing details gets kicked back for revisions, which restarts the clock.

Permitting is one of the most underestimated parts of a build-out timeline. A complete, accurate permit set moves through review faster, and the jurisdiction you choose can add or save weeks. When you are weighing locations, factor in local permitting speed, not just rent and visibility.

A medical group submits a permit set to a suburban village. The reviewer flags missing mechanical calculations, so the set goes back to the engineer and resubmits two weeks later. A complete set the first time would have saved those two weeks before construction even started.