Tenant Representation

Yes. We represent tenants and owner-occupiers only, never landlords. In Highland Park and across the Chicago area, that means no conflict of interest: our advice on space, lease terms, and timing is built entirely around your side of the deal.

Yes. We represent tenants and owner-occupiers only, never landlords. In Skokie and across the Chicago area, that means no conflict of interest: our advice on space, lease terms, and timing is built entirely around your side of the deal.

Yes. We represent tenants and owner-occupiers only, never landlords. In Arlington Heights and across the Chicago area, that means no conflict of interest: our advice on space, lease terms, and timing is built entirely around your side of the deal.

Yes. We represent tenants and owner-occupiers only, never landlords. In Itasca and across the Chicago area, that means no conflict of interest: our advice on space, lease terms, and timing is built entirely around your side of the deal.

Yes. We represent tenants and owner-occupiers only, never landlords. In Mount Prospect and across the Chicago area, that means no conflict of interest: our advice on space, lease terms, and timing is built entirely around your side of the deal.

Yes. We represent tenants and owner-occupiers only, never landlords. In Deerfield and across the Chicago area, that means no conflict of interest: our advice on space, lease terms, and timing is built entirely around your side of the deal.

A certificate of occupancy is the city confirming your finished space is safe and built to code.

After your build-out, inspectors check the building, fire, plumbing, electrical, and accessibility work. Once it all passes, the certificate is issued, and only then can you legally occupy the space and open. It is the last gate before you see patients, so build its timing into your plans.

For 2026, budget roughly 150 to 300 dollars per square foot in the Chicago area.

Dental, imaging, and surgical space tends to land at the higher end because of specialty plumbing, extra electrical, and dedicated HVAC. The condition the space is delivered in and the existing building systems are the biggest swings, so get a real contractor estimate on the specific space.

Both are unfinished, but a vanilla box is delivered further along than a warm shell.

A warm shell usually has HVAC, electrical service, and often restrooms, but a bare interior. A vanilla box adds finished walls, a ceiling, and lighting on top of that. Neither has a fixed industry definition, so always get the exact delivery condition in writing.

Yes, and the permit is what lets construction start.

Your architect prepares a permit set, the city reviews it, and work cannot begin until the permit is issued. A complete, accurate set clears review faster. At the end, you need a certificate of occupancy before you can legally open your doors.

Plan for roughly four to eight months from the start of design to the day you see patients.

That window covers four stages: design and space planning, permitting, construction, and final inspections. A larger practice, or one with imaging or surgical space, can run longer, and Chicago permitting usually takes more time than the suburbs.

The load factor is the percentage added to your usable square footage to arrive at the rentable square footage you actually pay rent on.

It covers your proportional share of the building's common areas, such as lobbies, corridors, and shared restrooms. It typically ranges from about 10 to 20%, so 20% sits at the high end but is not automatically a bad deal: a higher load factor can reflect genuine amenities your patients use, like accessible lobbies and ample parking. What matters is comparing total cost, not the rate alone. A 20% load factor on a 2,000 usable square foot suite means you pay on 2,400 rentable square feet. Always ask for both the usable and rentable figures, and the factor between them, before comparing spaces.

Commercial rent is calculated on rentable square footage, not the usable space you actually occupy.

Rentable square footage adds a proportional share of the building's common areas — lobbies, corridors, shared restrooms — to your usable area. The percentage added is called the load factor, and it typically ranges from about 10% to 20%. This means a 2,000 usable square foot suite might be billed as 2,300 rentable square feet. Because two buildings can quote the same per-square-foot rate but carry very different load factors, comparing rents without knowing each one is misleading — a lower rate on a higher load factor can cost more overall. Always ask for both the usable and rentable figures, and the load factor between them, before comparing spaces.

In a landlord-driven market like West Loop, lease terms are typically structured to favor ownership. Tenant representation ensures operators are not negotiating alone against optimized landlord positions.

We advocate exclusively for tenants—negotiating rent, concessions, renewal options, and exit flexibility—while aligning the lease with the operator’s operational and financial goals. This reduces exposure to unfavorable escalations, restrictive clauses, and long-term occupancy risk.

Early engagement maximizes leverage, options, and long-term alignment.

We negotiate terms, economics, and key protections with a tenant-first focus—covering rent structure, concessions, TI allowances, renewal options, exit flexibility, and risk exposure. Our role is to ensure the lease supports your long-term operational and financial goals, not just getting a deal done.

The earlier we’re involved, the more leverage and flexibility you have—whether that’s evaluating markets, shaping lease terms, or avoiding constraints that are hard to unwind later.

That said, we can add value at any stage: renewals, relocations, expansions, or even when you’re already deep in negotiations. Early involvement just means better outcomes.

While we support negotiations and execution, our role is to guide strategy, evaluate risk, and protect tenant interests — not to push transactions

This ensures our recommendations are unbiased and tenant-focused.

Our advice is independent, conflict-free, and aligned solely with your business objectives, risk tolerance, and long-term interests.