Did you know that renovating one part of a commercial building can sometimes require accessibility upgrades to areas you didn’t plan on touching? Under federal ADA standards, alterations made to a building’s primary function area require the accessible path of travel to that area, including entrances, restrooms, and parking, to also be upgraded, up to a cost cap of 20 percent of the original alteration’s cost. Elevators generally aren’t required in smaller facilities, but restrooms, telephones, and drinking fountains serving the renovated area typically do need to be brought up to standard.
This catches a lot of commercial property owners off guard mid-project, especially in older Omaha buildings constructed under different code requirements decades ago. It’s not a reason to avoid renovating, but it is a reason to loop in your contractor and the city’s building department early, before a budget and scope are finalized.
If you’re planning a commercial renovation this summer, ask your contractor what compliance triggers might apply before you lock in your project scope.