Most international tenants, first-store DTC brands and concession-to-standalone brands lose meaningful money in the work-letter exhibits, which is where US landlords routinely shift base-building cost, MEP capacity upgrades, common-area ADA upgrades and life-safety scope onto the tenant in clauses that are easy to miss without a US construction adviser in the room; the equivalent on the concession side is the host retailer's criteria package, with its prescribed finish standards, install windows, signage rules and freight constraints — and this service exists to catch both before the brand commits to terms it didn't fully understand.
What we deliver against the contract.
- Work-letter review against the brand's actual build scope (landlord deals)
- Host-retailer criteria-package review and compliance (Nordstrom, Saks, Bloomingdale's, Neiman Marcus, Macy's and similar)
- TI allowance negotiation support, working with your broker and counsel
- Landlord criteria package compliance — sign criteria, MEP intent, ADA, base-building
- Tenant kick-off package management with the landlord's or host retailer's construction team
- Base-building coordination through delivery
- Final landlord turnover and tenant readiness sign-off
Three phases. Same on every program.
Pre-lease review
We read the LOI, the lease and every exhibit. We flag the scope-shift clauses, the TI allowance language and the soft-cost coverage before the lease is signed.
Mid-lease coordination
Tenant kick-off package, landlord criteria compliance, sign-off on base-building condition, MEP capacity verification.
Turnover & opening
Base-building turnover sign-off, TI commencement notice, opening readiness coordination with the landlord's operations team.
TI allowances we typically see in the market
The questions buyers ask in the first call.
Do you replace our broker?
No. We work alongside your broker. Your broker negotiates the lease economics — rent, term, TI allowance amount. We negotiate the work-letter scope and the buildability of the lease.
Can you do this before we've picked a GC?
Yes. Tenant coordination is often the first thing we do for international brands — months before the GC selection happens. It's how brands avoid signing a lease that costs them an extra $200K in scope shift.
What does TI typically NOT cover?
Depending on the landlord: architect fees, permit fees, expediter fees, FF&E, brand-specific MEP upgrades above the base intent, signage outside the landlord's criteria, and most soft costs. We get this written into the work letter, not assumed.
Want a defensible read on what this looks like for your program?
Tell us about the program. We'll come back with a one-page scoping memo inside two business days.