There is no single price for a strata lobby renovation in Vancouver. The cost depends on lobby size, how much is rebuilt versus refreshed, and how much must happen while residents keep using the entrance. What you can fix early is the budget structure: hard construction cost, soft costs and contingency, each priced separately. This guide shows how councils and property managers build that budget.

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TL;DR

  • Lobby cost is driven by scope, not by a flat rate. Price flooring, walls and ceilings, lighting and electrical, millwork, access control and code upgrades as separate line items.
  • Published square-foot rates usually cover hard construction only. Permits, professional fees, taxes and contingency come on top.
  • Written strata council approval is needed for work on common property, and a significant change in appearance or use can also need a 3/4 vote of owners.
  • Plan funding early: contingency reserve fund, special levy, or a combination.
  • Phasing and a temporary entry plan protect residents and keep the schedule predictable in an occupied building.

Table of Contents

What drives a strata lobby budget

A lobby budget is the sum of three layers: hard construction cost, soft costs (design, project management, permits, taxes) and contingency. Scope and existing conditions move the hard cost most. Councils that price all three layers before the AGM avoid mid-project levies and uncomfortable owner meetings.

It helps to see how large the non-construction layers can get. In a 2017 Supreme Court of British Columbia decision about the Park Lane strata at 7250 Blake Street, a consultant’s report estimated construction costs of $3,834,000 and soft costs of $1,209,780. The soft costs included $575,600 for construction contingency, $294,000 for consulting and project management and $240,180 for general project contingency.

Park Lane construction and soft cost comparison

That was a major building repair, not a lobby, but the proportions are instructive. Soft costs were about 32% of construction cost, and construction contingency alone was about 15%. A lobby is a much smaller and simpler project, so your percentages may differ. The point is that a budget showing only the contractor’s number is incomplete.

Cost per square foot: what the number includes

Square-foot rates are a starting point for a strata lobby, not a quote. Most published rates cover hard construction only, and a lobby is small, so fixed items such as a concierge desk, electrical panels and mobilization weigh heavily. Always ask what a rate excludes before comparing it with a bid.

Turner & Townsend’s Q1 2026 Canada cost guide explains the convention: unit rates are primarily in CA$ per square foot of gross floor area, represent hard construction only, and exclude soft costs. The excluded items include HST/QST, furniture, professional fees, permits and development charges, and change-order contingency.

For broader context on commercial work in the region, our guide to commercial renovation costs per square foot in Vancouver covers a range of $120 to $500 per square foot depending on scope and finish level. A basic refresh sits at the low end. A lobby with new millwork, upgraded electrical and a reconfigured entry sits toward the high end.

There is one more reason lobbies behave differently from open office floors. A lobby is a thin slice of floor area packed with high-value work: a concierge or mailbox area, feature lighting, accessible entry hardware, signage and wall finishes. A per-square-foot figure from a larger project will understate it, so build the estimate from line items and use the rate only as a sense check.

Scope items that move the number

The biggest budget swings come from what you change versus what you keep. Rebuilding the layout, relocating electrical and replacing the entry system cost far more than new finishes on the existing footprint. Hidden conditions behind the walls and under the floor are the second major swing.

When we scope a lobby, we price these items individually:

  • Demolition and protection. Removing old finishes, protecting elevators and stairwells, and keeping a clean path for residents. This runs through the whole project.
  • Flooring and prep. Subfloor condition, moisture and levelling often cost more than the surface itself. As one reference point, a Metro Vancouver coating contractor’s guide puts epoxy flake flooring at $5 to $9 per square foot installed, including prep, materials and labour. Treat it as an installed-rate benchmark for one system, not a lobby total.
  • Walls, ceilings and paint. Drywall repair, ceiling work and finishes. Water damage or old coatings found during demolition add scope.
  • Lighting and electrical. New fixtures, controls and emergency lighting. Moving circuits requires permitted electrical work.
  • Millwork and built-ins. Mailbox surrounds, concierge desks, bench seating and feature walls are custom items with longer lead times.
  • Access control, intercom and cameras. Often coordinated with the building’s security vendor, with cabling and door hardware in the contractor’s scope.
  • Accessibility and life-safety upgrades. Door operators, clear widths, exit signage and fire-protection adjustments triggered by the extent of the work.
  • Signage and wayfinding. Small in cost but frequently forgotten in budgets.

Building conditions matter as much as the finish list. Older buildings can hide patched services, uneven slabs or materials that need special handling before demolition. A thorough pre-construction walk-through and a clear allowance for unknowns keep those surprises from becoming a levy.

The same logic applies to adjacent building systems. If the lobby work coincides with plumbing or fire-protection items such as backflow devices, it helps to plan recurring compliance costs alongside the renovation, as in this backflow testing budget planning example for property managers, which is priced for New Jersey, so use it for the budgeting method, not the figures.

Strata approvals and permits in Vancouver

A lobby is common property, so the strata corporation must approve the work in writing. If the project significantly changes the use or appearance of common property, the Strata Property Act also requires a 3/4 vote of owners at a general meeting. Permits come on top, and the contractor should manage them.

The City of Vancouver’s guidance on strata buildings states that written approval from the strata corporation is required when work involves common or limited common property, which typically includes public corridors and services that serve more than one unit. Check the City’s current permit pages for the latest requirements, since that guide dates from 2007.

On the owner vote, section 71 of the Act covers significant changes. A practitioner summary explains that a 3/4 vote is required for most significant changes in the use or appearance of common property, with an exception where an immediate change is necessary for safety or to prevent significant loss or damage. The 3/4 is counted from votes cast by eligible voters present in person or by proxy, excluding abstentions. A cosmetic refresh may not qualify as a significant change, but a redesigned entry probably does. Ask your strata lawyer to confirm for your scope.

On the municipal side, work that alters layout, electrical, fire protection or accessibility typically needs a City of Vancouver building or trade permit, and the design must comply with the BC Building Code. A contractor who manages permit applications and inspections keeps the schedule from stalling. Our overview of the permit process for renovations walks through the general sequence, and our team adapts it to commercial and strata projects.

Funding the project: reserve, levy or both

Strata councils fund lobby work from the contingency reserve fund, a special levy, or both. The right mix depends on the reserve balance, the depreciation report and how urgent the work is. A clear budget with contingency written in gives owners a number they can vote on with confidence.

BC’s Strata Property Act requires the contingency reserve fund to be built from a minimum of 10% of the annual operating budget, according to a May 2026 BC strata special levy guide. The same guide reports that levies for pool, amenity-area or gym renovations range from $500 to $5,000 per unit. Lobby levies vary by building size and scope, so treat that as an amenity-renovation reference and not a lobby quote.

For a sense of how small approved amounts can look in older filings, a 2008 council meeting record for a Vancouver strata shows carpet quotations of $27,000 to $35,000 and a repainting quote of $22,000 for residential hallways, lobbies and stairwells. Council proposed a $50,000 special assessment for both works. Those are historical figures and not a guide to 2026 pricing, but they show a good practice: separate quotes for separate work, then one levy motion.

When levies are the funding route, the court record from the Park Lane case is a useful reminder. The court recognized that a selective repair strategy was a reasonable compromise between necessary work and the financial burden on owners, and that a levy was needed to prevent significant loss or damage. Councils that scope in phases and document why can show owners the same reasoning.

A practical budget outline

Use this order when preparing a lobby budget for council:

  1. Hard construction, built from the scope list above.
  2. Design, drawings and project management fees.
  3. Permit and inspection costs.
  4. Applicable taxes.
  5. Construction contingency, held separately and released only for approved changes.
  6. Owner-side items such as signage, furniture and security vendor costs.

Keeping contingency as its own line makes it easier to explain at an AGM and easier to return to the reserve if it is not used.

Timeline and phasing in an occupied building

A lobby is the one space every resident, courier and visitor uses daily, so the schedule is shaped by access as much as by construction. Phased work, a temporary entry and clear notices keep the building working. Duration depends on scope, lead times for millwork and permits.

Protected temporary route through lobby renovation

For a sense of scale on larger buildings, RENX reported that the renovation of The Boot office tower in Burnaby, a 21-storey, 512,000-square-foot building, focuses on common spaces including the ground-floor lobby, with most work expected to take about 12 months while tenants stay in place. A strata lobby is far smaller, but the principle holds: occupied-building work is sequenced, not rushed.

A typical sequence looks like this:

  1. Pre-construction. Site review, scope, drawings, strata approvals, permit application and ordering of long-lead items such as millwork and door hardware.
  2. Mobilization. Protection of elevators and paths, signage, notices to residents and a temporary entry or mail arrangement if needed.
  3. Demolition and rough-in. The noisiest and dustiest stage, scheduled within the strata’s noise rules and often in off-peak hours.
  4. Finishes and millwork. Flooring, walls, ceilings, lighting and built-ins.
  5. Inspections and deficiencies. Permit sign-offs, final cleaning and handover.

Two things protect the schedule. First, order long-lead items before demolition starts. Second, give the contractor a single point of contact on council so decisions on finishes and change orders are made in days, not at the next meeting. As a prime contractor on site, the GC also carries WorkSafeBC coordination duties, which matter when residents, couriers and trades share one entrance.

Our perspective: scope it once, price it fully

We see strata lobby projects go wrong in the same way: the budget shows a construction number, and everything else shows up later. Permits, design time, taxes, security upgrades and contingency are real costs. If they are not in the motion, they end up in a second levy.

Our approach is to treat the lobby as a commercial project. We scope it line by line, confirm existing conditions before pricing and give council a fixed scope with a clear schedule. We self-perform and manage the whole project, so there is one accountable contractor for residents and property managers to deal with.

Because we work in occupied buildings across Metro Vancouver, we plan the entrance first: how residents get in, where deliveries go and when noisy work happens. We handle City of Vancouver and municipal permits and BC Building Code compliance, and we operate as a licensed, insured contractor with $5M liability coverage and WorkSafeBC coverage.

A good lobby budget is one that council can defend at the AGM, and the work that follows should match it.

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Planning a lobby project with Multigroup

If your council is preparing a lobby or common-area budget, we can help scope it, confirm permit requirements and map a phasing plan for your building. Our team delivers multi-family and strata common-area renovations across Metro Vancouver, from corridors and entries to full lobby refits.

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See our commercial renovation services in Vancouver or contact us to discuss your building and timeline.

FAQ

How much does a strata lobby renovation cost in Vancouver?

The cost depends on size, scope and building conditions, so a single figure would mislead. A finish refresh costs far less than a rebuilt layout with new electrical and millwork. Build the budget from line items, add soft costs and contingency, and request a fixed-scope quote from a commercial contractor.

Do published per-square-foot rates include everything?

Usually not. Industry cost guides such as Turner & Townsend’s treat rates as hard construction only, excluding taxes, professional fees, permits and change-order contingency. Add those before comparing any rate with a bid.

Does a lobby renovation need a vote of owners?

It needs written strata approval because a lobby is common property. If the work significantly changes the use or appearance of common property, section 71 of the Strata Property Act generally requires a 3/4 vote at a general meeting. Your strata lawyer can confirm whether your scope qualifies.

How long does a lobby renovation take?

Most of the time goes to approvals, permits and ordering long-lead items, and the construction itself is phased around resident access. A focused lobby project is a matter of weeks to months on site, depending on scope. Your contractor should give a written schedule once the scope is fixed.

Can the building stay in use during the work?

Yes, with planning. A temporary entry, protected elevators, set work hours and regular resident notices keep the building functioning. Noisy demolition is scheduled to respect strata bylaws and neighbours.

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