J. Crew's Tampa Permit, Florida Retail Permits

This store is part of a multi-site rollout, but it required working through Tampa’s rigorous permitting process. For this reason, J. Crew put its trust in Permit Place.

Challenge

Florida is notorious for its stringent intake requirements for building permits, and the J. Crew project required five permits—Building, Mechanical, Plumbing, Electrical, and Fire.

Meeting Florida’s exacting standards is not a mere checkbox activity; it demands an intimate understanding of state laws and precision in documentation.

At the outset of the project, we completed a full due diligence report to identify the key items that can affect a project’s schedule. We ensure upfront that we know:

• Key project contacts
• Plan formatting and naming standards.
• Special seals are required.
• Submittal and form requirements.
• Racking requirements.
• Involved departments and corresponding submittal requirements.
• AHJ codes.
• Contractor requirements for issuance.
• And more.

Armed with this information, we quality control the permit submittal application and flag any items that don’t satisfy the AHJ requirements. For example, incorrect codes on the cover sheet.

This quality control and submittal prep process enables us to sort out all the common causes of permit approval delays before the full application is submitted to the AHJ.

For J. Crew, because of our due diligence, our team was able to advise the project design team on the state’s sign/seal requirements—a potential roadblock that could lead to significant delays if not handled properly.

Project Win

Permit Place’s extensive experience in Tampa was evident in our efficient execution. Where most projects go through multiple rounds of reviews and revisions, J. Crew’s plans were approved in the first round.

But the real triumph was in the timing. The Tampa permit review period was estimated much longer than what Permit Place achieved. The approval process took just 5 business days—4 weeks sooner than building department estimates and 3 months ahead of J. Crew’s internal projections.

This remarkable efficiency did not go unnoticed. Both KCG and JLL, key stakeholders in the project, expressed their astonishment and appreciation for such a smooth 1st round of approval.

Our achievement with J. Crew’s Tampa project underscores the importance of expertise in navigating the complex terrains of local permitting.