DSW HVAC TI Maintains Approval Path Through Extended Review Cycle

Permit Place provided permit expediting services for an HVAC replacement tenant improvement (TI) at a DSW location within a Hillsboro, Oregon shopping center. Working on behalf of Lennox NAS, the scope required coordination with the City of Hillsboro Community Development Department – Building Safety Division to secure plan check approval for the mechanical work.

Delivered within the broader Lennox national program, the project required consistent standards, disciplined coordination, and continuity across an extended review cycle. Permit Place managed all City-facing communication and documentation to ensure the approval path remained viable and did not require restart.

Challenges

Following the initial plan review, the project entered a prolonged response phase before corrections could be fully addressed. During this period, maintaining an active approval path with the City became critical, as extended inactivity risked loss of prior review progress and additional cost exposure.

The situation required careful coordination across multiple stakeholders and third-party design inputs while preserving alignment with jurisdictional requirements and the broader Lennox program.

Solutions and Strategies

Permit Place relied on structured coordination and proactive risk management to stabilize the project and preserve progress:

• Maintained consistent follow-ups to keep documentation and responses aligned
• Coordinated closely with mechanical and structural contributors to consolidate revisions
• Verified that all corrected plans fully addressed jurisdictional comments before resubmittal
• Applied strategic application planning to prevent reopening previously resolved items
• Maintained clear communication with the Building Safety Division to keep the review sequence organized

This approach ensured the project could resume efficiently without restarting the permitting process.

Project Wins

• Preserved the existing plan check approval path despite an extended response period
• Achieved final plan check approval within days of resubmittal once complete plans were available
• Avoided application reset, additional fees, and duplicate review effort
• Protected the Lennox program schedule for the DSW Hillsboro location

This project demonstrates Permit Place’s ability to manage long-horizon permitting efforts, protect prior approvals, and deliver reliable outcomes for national programs, even when projects experience extended pauses between review cycles.