Westgate Mall Executes Coordinated TI Approvals in San Jose

Permit Place supported Federal Realty Investment Trust at Westgate Mall in San Jose, managing three separate tenant improvement (TI) permit approvals within the same active retail environment.

Each scope required coordination with the City of San Jose Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement. While the projects varied in technical focus, they shared one priority: secure clean approvals without disrupting construction sequencing at the property.

Rather than treating these as isolated submissions, Permit Place approached them as a coordinated permitting effort aligned with Federal Realty’s broader program and operational timelines.

Scope of Work

Seismic Anchor Tenant Improvement
Structural anchorage work requiring confirmation of local seismic standards and alignment with mall safety requirements.

Deferred Steel Stair Submission
A structural deferred submittal integrated into an existing permit framework, requiring precise coordination with prior approvals.

Mall Tenant Improvement Plan Review
Landlord-focused review work requiring alignment with mall documentation standards and City submittal requirements.

Each submission required clean documentation, accurate cross-referencing, and disciplined coordination to prevent overlap or review conflicts.

Challenges

The primary complexity was not technical difficulty, it was coordination.

Multiple scopes were moving through the same jurisdiction, at the same property, within overlapping timeframes. Any misalignment between structural details, deferred components, or tenant documentation could have triggered delays or conflicting review comments.

Maintaining clarity across three active submissions required tight document control and strategic sequencing.

Solutions and Strategies

Permit Place relied on its established Due Diligence process and structured application planning to manage the work as a unified effort rather than separate transactions.

Key actions included:

• Verifying seismic and structural standards before submittal
• Aligning deferred structural details with previously approved plan sets
• Sequencing submissions to avoid cross-scope review friction
• Maintaining direct, proactive communication with City reviewers
• Delivering clean, fully coordinated packages for each scope

By anticipating jurisdictional expectations and ensuring internal alignment before filing, the team eliminated the need for redesign cycles or prolonged review loops.

Project Wins

All three permit approvals were secured efficiently, each moving through review without disruption to ongoing construction at Westgate Mall.

Federal Realty Investment Trust benefited from:

• Predictable approvals across multiple scopes
• No downstream conflicts between structural and TI submissions
• Maintained construction sequencing within an active retail environment
• A consistent permitting strategy supporting property-wide execution

This coordinated effort at Westgate Mall demonstrates how disciplined permit expediting services can support multi-scope retail environments with precision, speed, and minimal friction. Particularly within complex mall settings and large municipal jurisdictions like San Jose.