Austin Construction Permit Process Analysis

City of Austin Permit Process and Construction Timelines

Why do people complain so much about the City of Austin permit process and review times? What are the realistic review times? Can you expedite the review process?

For a typical new office space, regardless of its function, there will be new electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and fire protection systems. The City of Austin review process includes a review for each one of these disciplines. This multidisciplinary review, together with the number of projects the City receives for review each day, is what ends up delaying a construction permit. You should expect the following review times from the City of Austin:

  • Standard office permit – 6-8 weeks
    • Anything requiring wastewater review, add 4 weeks
    • Anything requiring a change of use permit, add 1 week
  • The above timeframes do not include the actual design phase from the architectural and engineering teams, which can be anywhere between 4-12 weeks depending on the complexity of the project
  • If any of the plans submitted for review are rejected by the City, you should expect an additional 2 weeks of review time for the re-submitted plans

For repurposing an existing office/retail space, the review time is typically less than 2 weeks. However, the project must meet these three requirements:

  1. Space must be less than 5,000 square feet
  2. The design must involve minimal changes
  3. Does not apply for change of use projects (i.e. turning an office space into a restaurant)

Unfortunately, there is no guaranteed way to help expedite any of these processes. We recommend using a professional permit expediting services company to handle this with the City. While any of these companies may not necessarily be able to put your project ahead of other projects, they can ensure the drawings are submitted correctly the first time (right number of copies, completed forms, etc.). This will at least avoid getting delayed by technicalities.

NoackLittle Architecture and Interiors New Office

Turning Point Construction is proud to announce the completion of the new offices for our friends at NoackLittle Architecture and Interiors (NLAI). This is the latest finish out completed at the TwoTwenty South building, located at 220 Industrial Blvd.

NLAI’s design took a very complex and difficult industrial space and turned it into amazing, modern, and sophisticated offices. The new offices include 18 feet tall angled walls covered in wood paneling, stained concrete flooring, exquisite LED lighting features throughout, concrete countertops, and high open ceilings. The reception/break room area first welcomes you into the space. You quickly feel that you are in a unique place. Right next to the break room are two elegant and warm conference rooms. The rest of the suite is both an open co-working area and a showcase of what good design looks like.

The project was a success thanks to the open communication channels kept throughout the construction process with the NLAI team. Building an architect’s office was a challenging experience, but we couldn’t be more proud of the results and honored to have been chosen for this project by Chris Noack and Clay Little.

The Parking Spot Construction Project

The Parking Spot Construction Project Complete

Turning Point Construction chose to highlight this project, in specific, due to the complexity of the Exterior Structure and Electrical Coordination required.

The Parking Spot – East is the second parking structure developed by the Parking Spot in Austin. It was a joint venture with Joe Bland Construction, one of the best, if not, the best site work/ utilities contractor in Central Texas. We handled the Office Building Structure and the Exterior Parking Canopy whereas Joe Bland handled the Site work/ utilities, parking lot and pavement.

The canopy structure was very complicated. It was 16’ tall steel columns and had a wood structure on top that had been wrapped with metal roof/ metal panels. Tying the two systems together while maintaining structural integrity and aesthetics was a challenge. The metal clips had to be concealed and the metal panels had to be straight without a single bend or imperfection.

The Electrical work and coordination was a challenge as the site was fed from the building. This project integrated security gates and charging stations for electric cars. Thanks to the people at Joe Bland Construction and Turning Point Construction, the electrical scope transition from building to site was seamless and everything worked perfectly to plan.

The project was a success thanks to all team members; owners, design team, general contractor and subcontractors on this project. We are happy to say that both the Parking Spot and Joe Bland Construction have already contacted us to work together again!

View this project.