Tenant Advisory Services From Signed Lease to Move-In: The Buildout Handoff

Tenant advisory services do not stop when the lease is signed. For a startup office, the stretch between signature and move-in is where schedules and budgets slip, so the advisor's work carries on into the buildout. A custom buildout typically takes 10 to 16 weeks after signing, while a floor that is already furnished or pre-built can be in use two to four weeks after signing. At Nomad the broker hands the project to a construction management team inside the same firm, so drawings can begin before the lease is final. The floors below fit about 60 people.

Rather have a broker answer it for your team?Tell us team size and timing. A broker reaches out within the hour during business hours.

Plan my buildout

Updated 2026-10-03 · Nomad Group

Before signing: the two buildout terms the lease fixes

Two things have to be settled while the lease is still open, because both are written into it.

The allowance. The tenant improvement allowance is the landlord's contribution to construction: how much, when it is paid, and what happens to any amount left unused.
Who does the work. In a landlord build, the owner's contractor builds to a plan both sides have agreed. In a tenant build the contractor is yours to hire, subject to the landlord's approval of the drawings, and the allowance is paid back to you against invoices.

Before either is agreed, we get a contractor's estimate on your actual test fit. Without it the allowance is negotiated blind.

The handoff timeline from letter of intent to desks

During the lease negotiation: the test fit becomes a design, and the estimate is priced.
Design: two to three weeks, if decisions are made promptly.
Permits and long-lead orders: three to four weeks, running partly side by side.
Construction: six to nine weeks for a typical full floor.
Punch list: about a week.

That is the usual 10 to 16 weeks for a custom buildout. It is a typical range and not a promise: landmark review, a single freight elevator or a late change of scope all add time. The buildout timeline shows where the weeks go.

Who does what: broker, construction manager, landlord

The broker negotiates the allowance, the free rent and the delivery condition, and keeps the lease true to the letter of intent.
The construction manager coordinates the design, files with the Department of Buildings, secures the landlord's approvals, manages the contractor and brings in furniture, cabling and AV.
The landlord reviews the drawings, delivers the space in the agreed condition and pays the allowance.
You make decisions on time. A late choice during design pushes back every phase after it.

Nomad's construction management team takes the second role, so the handoff from broker to builder happens inside one firm.

The buildout cost above the allowance, and who carries it

Custom buildouts commonly run $50 to $150 a square foot, depending on scope, and the allowance covers part of that. The gap is the tenant's. Furniture, cabling and AV usually sit outside the allowance as well, so we plan them in the same budget.

Glass fronts, plumbing and enclosed rooms move the number most. A furnished or pre-built floor removes most of the gap. The floors below are sized for about 60 people, shown with square footage and, where one is published, the asking rent.

Floors that fit a team of 60

Live from our listings · 6 of the 8, smallest first

A team of 60 plans on about 10,500 square feet at 175 a person. 8 floors on our book sit in the range that fits, 10,500 to 18,900 square feet, asking $56 to $200 per square foot per year on the 6 with a published rent.

Floors: 8
Sizes: 10,517-18,668 sq ft
Asking rent: $56-$200 / sq ft

Every available floor, filterable by size →

The full guide

This page is the short answer. The long one, with the numbers worked through, is here:

Can design start before the lease is signed?

Yes, and it shortens the schedule. Once the test fit is agreed, the design can move forward while the attorneys work on the lease, so the approvals clock starts on the day of signing and not weeks later.

Is a landlord build or a tenant build better for a startup?

Each trades something. A landlord build asks less of your time and gives you less control over the contractor and the finishes. A tenant build gives you control and makes you responsible for the schedule, which is the job a construction manager takes on.

What does a pre-built floor save a team of 60?

Most of the construction period. Move-in on a pre-built or furnished floor usually follows the signature by two to four weeks, against 10 to 16 for a floor built to order. You accept a layout someone else chose in exchange for the time.

Who orders the furniture and sets up the cabling?

The construction manager brings both in at the end of the job, along with the AV. These usually fall outside the landlord's allowance, so they are budgeted from the start.

Talk to a broker

Want this answered for your team?

Tell us three things: team size, timing, budget. A first shortlist can be ready within 24 hours, with the asking rent on every floor that publishes one.

Within the houra broker reaches out during business hours, no automated triage
On your sidewe work for you on your search, and the landlord usually pays our fee
Open pricingasking rent published for 46 of 49 floors, size and address for all
300+ officesdelivered in New York, 2M+ sq ft leased

Or call 646-688-3158