In the post-COVID commercial office landscape, TJK is helping employers throughout Dane County adapt to the growing demand for more flexible spaces. We’re seeing significant activity across the board, from businesses implementing mandatory return-to-office policies to others maintaining hybrid work models and from new companies claiming entire floor plates to established businesses requiring less space. The landlords we work with must react to these fluctuations, and TJK’s involvement in that reaction has been a significant increase in demising work.
Demising involves splitting up existing office floor plates into smaller, separate tenant spaces. As single occupants continue vacating entire floors, a trend we see across the country and here in Madison, breaking up these spaces into multiple smaller units allows landlords to accommodate new tenants and start generating revenue again.
But it’s much more than just putting up partition walls. Demising requires addressing flooring, lighting, building code compliance, reconfiguring HVAC systems originally designed for a single occupant on an entire floor, and perhaps most critically, life, safety, health, and exiting requirements. We’re proud of the tried-and-true relationships we have with all our subcontractors, and specifically with our MEPs, who have engineering staff that can properly reconfigure systems not originally designed to be divided. This expertise is crucial, as temperature control issues, equipment and electrical requirements, tying into and creating new water and sanitary sewer lines, and rerouting fire suppression piping and heads are among the top requirements when demising spaces.
Earlier this year, our team completed multiple office demising projects for separate tenants on the 7th and 8th floors of 2 E Mifflin, with an additional 7th-floor project on the horizon. When the former occupant relocated from the 7th floor, leaving it entirely vacant, demising became the solution—transforming one floor plate into two separate spaces for two different businesses. Laffey, Sebranek, Auby & Ristau, S.C. is one of the new tenants enjoying their newly reconfigured space.
This office at LSAR Law includes a gorgeous view of the Capitol.
Putting the finishing touches on The Welch Group’s new kitchenette for staff.
Frameless glass doors offer a sleek and minimalist aesthetic.
Once our work on these two 7th-floor suites is complete, two beautiful frameless glass doors will welcome guests into the two separate suites. On the 8th floor, we helped our customer The Welch Group expand into space from an adjacent suite that was downsizing. Part of this remodel included creating two new kitchenettes—one for the existing tenant who is downsizing and one for The Welch Group—so this was essentially two projects in one.
A quick walk up the street takes you to 22 E Mifflin, where we’re completing a 6,600 s.f. remodel for Wisconsin Counties that will absorb square footage from an adjacent business that’s downsizing. This includes building a demising wall and matching the finishes in the existing suite that was downsizing while ensuring all fire suppression, HVAC, and electrical components are properly separated to once again function independently in each individual suite.
The demolition phase marks the shift from creative planning and collaboration to the construction phase.
When an Edward Jones office needed to relocate in Sun Prairie, we completed a full remodel of their new suite. One interesting aspect of this demising project is that the previous occupant left an oddly shaped suite. So, while Edward Jones took most of the suite for their new office, the landlord retained the remnant suite for his own use. This remnant suite also needed to be brought up to code for life, health, and safety, which TJK was happy to handle, making this another example of a two-in-one project.
Demising may be challenging work, but it’s proving to be the best solution for office building owners looking to adjust and adapt to changing tenant demands. Whether you’re a landlord needing to reconfigure space or a business whose space requirements have evolved, TJK is ready to help. Give us a call today.