Turn one vacant suite into three leasable ones — in under 30 days of engineering.
A big suite that won’t lease is dead square footage. The fix is usually a demising plan and an MEP split — not waiting for a tenant who wants 7,000 SF.
Before you re-tenant a multi-tenant building, run these five checks. Any “not sure” is usually a 15-minute phone call — and a lot cheaper than finding out at permit review.
1. Can the existing MEP be split without a service upsize?
Each new suite needs its own metering, HVAC zoning, and restroom/plumbing branch. Check the electrical panel and building service capacity, the rooftop unit’s tonnage and outside-air capability, and the sanitary/vent layout.
Red flag: If demand outgrows the existing service or RTU, you’re into utility and equipment lead times — not drywall. Gear and rooftop units can run months, and that clock, not the buildout, sets your opening date.
2. Do you have accurate as-builts — or drawings that lie?
A BOMA 2019 as-built sets the rentable SF you lease against and anchors the demising plan. Old or hand-me-down drawings mismeasure the space and put MEP where it isn’t.
Red flag: Leasing off a wrong SF number is a revenue error on every rent roll; a demising line drawn on a bad as-built moves at the worst possible time — mid-construction.
3. Does the parking count still work if you add suites or tenants?
Splitting one tenant into three can change the site’s required parking ratio, fire-lane layout, and accessible (ADA) stall count — all of which live on a site plan the city reviews.
Red flag: A parking shortfall can cap how many suites the site will actually support — a leasing constraint that has nothing to do with the interior.
4. Is the occupancy classification changing?
A change of use or occupancy (warehouse → assembly, retail → medical, office → restaurant) re-triggers code from scratch — ventilation, egress, fire sprinkler density, and in Texas the TDLR/RAS accessibility review.
Red flag: A “cosmetic finish-out” budget never carried these. The occupancy change, not the paint, is what a plan reviewer grades — and what can hold your Certificate of Occupancy.
5. What’s the permit path — and are there open comments?
Know your Authority Having Jurisdiction (City of Houston, Harris County, the suburb, or the county fire marshal) before design freezes. A permit stuck on unanswered plan-review comments quietly parks the whole schedule.
Red flag: A deal doesn’t die at underwriting — it dies waiting on a permit comment nobody answered. Your engineer should be fluent in your jurisdiction’s comments, not learning them on your dime.
The 1–2 week fast track
1. Measure — Site visit + BOMA 2019 as-builts of the space as it is today.
2. Demise — Suite layout + MEP split (power, HVAC, plumbing) engineered per suite.
3. Permit-ready — Sealed set for your jurisdiction; we answer the city’s comments.
From the field
On a Houston multi-tenant flex building, one oversized vacant suite was holding down the rent roll. We measured it, drew the BOMA-2019 as-builts, and delivered demising MEP for three leasable suites in under two weeks. The building didn’t change — the rent roll did.
Send us the suite — we’ll tell you how it splits.
Get the full checklist as a PDF, plus a free 15-minute read of your space, MEP, parking, and permit path.
Quang Do, P.E. · (713) 826-3979 · engineer@pyraixi.com · MBE / HUB Certified · TBPE F-22556