Retail Strip-Outs in Toronto
Retail units turn over often, and each change of tenant means clearing the last store's fixtures and finishes. We take the space back to what the landlord or incoming tenant needs, ready for the next fit-out.
MetroPoint strips retail units in plazas, malls and main-street storefronts across Downsview, midtown west and the rest of the City of Toronto, including storefronts with apartments above.
Is this the right scope?
Remove a former shop interior to an agreed landlord standard.
A retail handback may retain the storefront and base-building equipment while removing tenant displays, partitions and finishes.
Compare the overall commercial strip-out scope ↗Where this scope stops
Storefront changes, live services and landlord-owned equipment are not presumed included. Stock and loose contents need a separate clear-out plan.
Define these items in writing
- Agreed displays, counters and tenant fixtures
- Specified finishes and partitions
- Protection of storefront and common-area access
What assessment needs to establish
- Lease handback list and marked retained items
- Neighbouring tenants and public access
- Loading route and building work rules
What's included
- Store fixtures, gondolas, display cases and cash wraps
- Slatwall, feature walls and signage backing inside the unit
- Fitting rooms, stockroom shelving and back of house partitions
- Ceilings, bulkheads and lighting after the electrician has made them safe
- Flooring down to the slab or base floor
- Staff washroom and kitchenette removals where scoped
- Handback of the unit to base-building condition
How the job runs
- 01
Walk and survey
We walk the unit, read the survey and review the landlord's handback requirements.
- 02
Plan around neighbours
Working hours, rear access and containment are set with the landlord and adjacent tenants in mind.
- 03
Trades isolate
An electrician and plumber make safe the services inside the scope.
- 04
Fixtures out
Displays, slatwall and back of house shelving are dismantled and removed.
- 05
Ceilings and floors
Ceilings come down, then flooring is removed to the base floor.
- 06
Handback walk
The unit is swept and inspected with the landlord against the agreed condition.
Before we start
Before the strip-out is arranged, the owner has to identify designated substances in the unit, which is the duty set out in OHSA section 30. Older plazas and main-street buildings often have layers of flooring and ceiling finishes from past tenants that need sampling.
A qualified abatement contractor completes required removal of affected asbestos-containing material under O. Reg. 278/05 before our affected work starts, because MetroPoint does not do abatement. The outgoing tenant should remove stock and equipment, and the landlord should confirm what counts as base building.
Visible work examples
Removed fixtures stacked inside a commercial unit Open commercial room during removals Commercial floor cleared after interior removals Commercial interior with ceiling and wall finishes gone
Related pages
Questions and answers
- How do you work in a storefront with residents upstairs?
- With containment, sensible hours and a quiet order of work. Toronto's noise bylaw, Municipal Code Chapter 591, sets the limits for construction noise, and we plan the loudest tasks within them. Openings to the stairwell and upper units are sealed, and loading uses the rear lane where there is one.
- What does base-building condition mean for a retail unit?
- It is whatever the landlord defines in the lease: often a clear unit with the slab, demising walls, a basic electrical service and a washroom left in place. We work from that written definition. Where it is unclear, we ask the landlord to confirm before we remove anything that might be theirs.
- Can you salvage fixtures for a store that is relocating?
- Yes, when they are marked in the scope. Fixtures being reused are dismantled carefully, labelled and staged for the tenant's mover rather than broken down. Other items leave only when included in the agreed removal and disposition list. Tell us at the site walk which pieces matter so we can plan the time for them.
- Do you remove exterior signage?
- Interior signage backing and feature walls are part of a typical strip-out. Exterior signs often involve electrical work, lifts and landlord approval, so we discuss them separately. We will not remove anything on the building face without the landlord's written go-ahead.
Get a scoped estimate
Request an on-site assessment and a written scope before work begins.
Licensed, insured and WSIB-registered, carrying $5M commercial general liability.
Next step
Tell us about your retail strip-outs project
This service is selected for you. Change it if another scope fits better, or choose the advice option. Share the removal limits, property location and anything that must remain.
Get a Free Quote
Tell us what goes and what stays.
Decisions within this scope
Use these comparisons to describe the component that leaves, the surface that stays and the decision needed before removal.
- Removing fitting rooms while the retail floor stays
How do I separate a fitting-room removal from a full shop strip-out?
- Window display removal versus storefront alteration
Can the interior display come out while the storefront remains?
Plan the wider project
Compare the removals, retained areas and next-trade responsibilities for your project.