Tenant improvements & fit-outs — the core commercial work
Most NYC commercial electrical arrives as a tenant improvement: a new lease, a build-out deadline, and an electrical scope that touches everything — circuits, panels, lighting, data rough-in, and code compliance, all sequenced inside a construction schedule that cannot slip.
How we run TI work: site walk against the drawings → fixed-price itemized proposal (every circuit, fixture, and device on its own line) → DOB permits filed to sequence with the GC's alteration permits → rough-in on schedule → finish, inspection, and sign-off before your occupancy date. Office TI typically runs $12–$35 per square foot depending on density; the proposal makes your number exact before demolition starts.
Restaurants get their own paragraph because they're the densest electrical occupancy in the city: 60–200A of kitchen equipment on dedicated circuits, hood exhaust interlocked per fire code, refrigeration that can never share a circuit with anything, 3-phase service in most full kitchens, and dining-room lighting on scene controls. Fit-outs run $8,000–$35,000+ by size; we schedule installation around your service hours, and for operating restaurants, overnight work is routine for us.
Building systems, power & compliance
3-phase service & panels
Commercial panel upgrades 200–400A+ with load calculations, ConEd coordination, and DOB filings. $4,500–$12,000 typical.
Emergency & exit lighting
Code-required egress systems installed, repaired, and test-documented for FDNY and insurance records.
Retail & gallery lighting
Track systems, accent lighting, storefront and signage power — LED conversions that cut operating cost 60–80%.
Data & low-voltage rough-in
Cat6 throughout, dedicated circuits for IT closets and POS, UPS-backed power for what can't go down.
EV charging — commercial
Make-ready infrastructure and Level 2/3 charging for parking, fleets, and customer-facing locations. Details →
LL97 & LL88 compliance
Load studies, service upgrades, heat pump infrastructure, and lighting-code upgrades for covered buildings. The full guide →
Mixed-use buildings
Commercial ground floor + residential above — one contractor for both sides. Multi-family →
Commercial emergency
Power loss, panel failures, and hazards — 24/7 dispatch with priority for revenue-critical situations. Details →
Why fixed-price proposals — and what's in ours
Hourly billing on significant commercial work misaligns incentives: the slower the job, the bigger the invoice. So we hold a hard rule — everything over $2,500 gets a fixed-price itemized proposal after a site walk. Itemized means every panel, circuit run, fixture count, device, and permit on its own line, so you can value-engineer specific items instead of negotiating a blob.
The proposal also locks scope: changes get priced as written change orders before execution, never discovered on the final invoice. Hourly remains for what it's good at — diagnostics, small repairs, and maintenance calls — at $85–$150/hr standard and $130–$220/hr after-hours, quoted up front.
After-hours is standard, not premium-exotic. Retail and restaurants can't close for electrical work, so nights and weekends are how most of our commercial installation actually happens. We staff for it; you shouldn't have to beg for it.
The Local Law 88 deadline has passed
Buildings over 25,000 sq ft needed compliant lighting and tenant sub-metering certified by January 1, 2025. Penalties recur while the violation stays open — fixing it once is what stops the exposure.
Local Law 88 deadline has passed. Buildings over 25,000 sq ft needed compliant lighting and tenant sub-metering filed by January 1, 2025 — and penalties recur while the violation stays open. See what LL88 late fees cost, or call us for an assessment.
Service areas
Commercial electrical throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx — from single storefronts to multi-tenant buildings. Detailed rates in the commercial cost guide.
Frequently asked questions
Hourly: $85–$150 standard, $130–$220 after-hours. Office tenant improvements: $12–$35/sq ft. Restaurant fit-outs: $8,000–$35,000+. Commercial panel upgrades: $4,500–$12,000. Everything over $2,500 gets a fixed-price itemized proposal after a site walk — your budget locks before work begins.
Yes — after-hours and weekend installation is standard operating procedure for our commercial work, not a special request. Retail, restaurants, and offices that can't close are most of our commercial schedule.
Always. Commercial electrical permits, coordination with the GC's alteration filings, inspection scheduling, and sign-off — included in every proposal. Unpermitted commercial work risks your certificate of occupancy and your lease.
In most cases yes: panel and circuit work staged overnight, equipment connections timed to your dark hours, hood interlock testing before opening. We've done full kitchen electrical expansions in operating restaurants without a lost service.
If your building is over 25,000 sq ft, emissions penalties are live and the 2030 caps are the planning horizon. The compliance path is electrification, and the electrical infrastructure — load studies, service capacity, heat pump circuits — is the critical path. Start with our LL97 guide and a load study.
Yes — scheduled maintenance for emergency lighting testing, panel inspections, and lighting upkeep, plus priority emergency response for maintenance clients. Mixed-use and multi-family owners: see our multi-family service for portfolio structures.
What our customers say
"Full electrical fit-out of our 3,200 sq ft Flatiron office — the itemized proposal was so detailed we value-engineered $6k out of it ourselves before signing. Done two days ahead of our occupancy date."
"They expanded our kitchen's electrical for two new combi ovens entirely overnight across three nights. We never lost a single service. Restaurant electricians who actually understand restaurants."
"Commercial panel upgrade plus LED conversion across our two retail locations in the Bronx. Fixed price held exactly, after-hours as promised, and the lighting bill dropped by two-thirds."
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Get a fixed-price commercial proposal
Send the drawings or book a site walk — itemized proposal within 48 hours, permits included, after-hours execution available.
