Burke Special Projects – Frequently Asked Questions
Since 2016, Burke Special Projects (BSP) has been Burke Construction Group’s dedicated tenant improvement and special projects division, serving commercial tenants, landlords, brokers and facility teams throughout the Las Vegas metro. The FAQs below cover everything from TI definitions and delivery methods to permitting, design and how to start a project.
Burke Special Projects is the tenant improvement and interior special projects division of Burke Construction Group, a Las Vegas-based commercial general contractor. While Burke Construction Group focuses on large-scale ground-up construction, BSP specializes in tenant improvements, interior build-outs, office renovations and commercial remodels.
BSP shares Burke’s leadership, systems, safety standards, and long-standing Las Vegas market relationships while providing a team structured for faster, more focused interior projects. For tenant improvements and special projects, contact BSP. For large-scale new construction, visit Burke Construction Group. Learn more at Who We Are.
Burke Special Projects is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. As a division of Burke Construction Group, BSP is supported by Burke’s licensing in 26 states, allowing the team to pursue projects across the country. An interactive map of licensed states, including license information by jurisdiction and trade category, is available on the Who We Are page. For project-specific licensing questions, please contact the BSP team.
Address: 385 Pilot Road, Las Vegas, Nevada 89119
Phone Number: (702) 367-1040
Email: info@burkecgi.com
A tenant improvement is construction work completed within a leased commercial space to support a tenant’s specific operational needs. This may include transforming a shell or existing suite into an office, restaurant, retail store, medical space or other business environment. Burke Special Projects manages the full tenant improvement process, including preconstruction planning, design coordination through BSP Studio, permitting, construction and final inspection. Whether the project involves a shell requiring a complete build-out or an existing space needing renovation, BSP coordinates the work from initial planning through certificate of occupancy. View the full range of services on the What We Do page.
Burke Special Projects focuses on tenant improvements, interior build-outs, commercial renovations and select special projects across seven market sectors. While Burke Construction Group primarily handles large-scale ground-up construction, BSP is structured for smaller-footprint and interior-focused projects, including individual suites, lobby renovations, multi-floor office build-outs, restaurants, retail spaces and specialized improvements. BSP is backed by Burke Construction Group’s quality standards, safety culture and more than 40 years of experience. View completed projects on the Our Work page or explore services on the What We Do page.
BSP Studio brings design and construction together within one in-house team. Rather than treating design, permitting and construction planning as separate phases, these efforts can progress at the same time, creating a more coordinated and efficient process. The integrated team also provides a single point of coordination. Design and field teams work together to identify conflicts, answer questions and resolve issues before they affect the owner, schedule or construction work. BSP Studio delivers full-service architectural and interior design through a team of licensed architects and designers, guiding projects from pre-design through schematic design, design development, construction documentation, and construction administration. View the Design Process page for a step-by-step overview of how BSP moves a project from concept to permit-ready drawings.
Yes—many of BSP’s projects are executed in buildings that remain open and operational throughout construction. Occupied-building work requires a different operational posture than a vacant site: detailed phasing plans; air barrier and dust control protocols; coordinated access windows; after-hours and weekend shifts; and close communication with building management and adjacent tenants. BSP has completed TIs in active Class A office towers, operating retail environments, live food-and-beverage venues and occupied financial branches. For tenants whose business cannot tolerate disruption during business hours, BSP structures phased scopes of work and after-hours construction schedules to protect operations. Discuss your occupancy constraints early as it directly shapes the phasing plan and timeline. Contact BSP at our Contact page to review your project’s specific schedule requirements.
Restaurant build-outs are among the most technically complex TI project types—and BSP has completed them across multiple restaurant and café concepts including Urth Caffé, Sunlife Organics, Wineaux, Todo Bien and Amari. The complexity comes from utility-intensive requirements: commercial grease traps, Type I and Type II hood systems, fire suppression above cooking equipment, high-amp electrical service for kitchen equipment, Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) inspections and coordinated MEP rough-ins timed to equipment delivery and owner-furnished FF&E. Retail food-and-beverage locations in mixed-use developments add a layer of landlord work letter coordination and base-building tie-in. BSP manages all of it—from permit drawings through health department sign-off—as part of a single integrated scope. For a closer look at completed food-and-beverage and retail projects, visit Our Work.
In a traditional design-bid-build delivery, the owner hires an architect, receives a completed drawing set, then solicits bids from general contractors; a linear process where design is fully separated from construction pricing until the very end, when budget surprises are most costly to resolve. In BSP’s design-build approach, our project team and design team form a single integrated cohort, aligning design decisions with real construction costs throughout the process. Value engineering and constructability reviews happen during design, not after bids come back over budget.
The Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) notes that design-build delivery continues to grow as a share of U.S. construction spending precisely because it reduces overall project delivery time and design-phase cost escalation. For TI work where speed to occupancy directly translates to business revenue for the tenant, this integrated approach is a meaningful competitive advantage.
Permitting for commercial TI projects in Las Vegas runs through either Clark County Building Department or the City of Las Vegas Building & Safety depending on jurisdiction, and each authority has specific requirements for plan submittal, review cycles, inspection protocols and occupancy classifications. BSP manages the full permitting process as part of every project scope: preparing or coordinating permit-ready construction documentation through BSP Studio, submitting to the appropriate jurisdiction, responding to plan check comments and scheduling all required inspections through to final sign-off and certificate of occupancy. BSP is licensed in Nevada and maintains active compliance with the Nevada State Contractors Board (NSCB). Permitting timelines vary by project complexity and jurisdiction queue. The project team will discuss timeline expectations during preconstruction. Review BSP’s process at Design Process.
Safety at BSP is rooted in a Zero Harm goal that has been part of the Burke organization since 1984. The core principle is simple: every person on a BSP jobsite goes home without injury. That commitment extends from project management and field supervision down through every subcontractor on site. Safety planning begins in preconstruction—identifying site-specific hazards, occupied-building protocols, after-hours work procedures and phasing risks before ground is broken. On active projects, BSP’s Safety Leadership program drives regular safety observations, toolbox talks and incident reporting practices aligned with OSHA construction standards. For more on BSP’s safety philosophy, visit Safety Leadership.
Burke Special Projects is the special projects division of Burke Construction Group. Jim Colegrove serves as Managing Partner, working alongside executive team members Kevin Burke and Kristen Holland. BSP has longstanding relationships with Las Vegas’ major building owners, commercial brokers and the subcontractor community. Learn more about BSP’s leadership and history at Who We Are.
BSP approaches sustainability as an embedded practice rather than an add-on certification process. Sustainable practices on TI projects include material selection for low VOC content, waste diversion and recycling programs during demolition and construction, energy-efficient mechanical and lighting specifications and coordination with building ownership on base-building sustainability goals. For tenants pursuing LEED certification or green lease commitments, BSP works within those frameworks from the design phase through construction documentation. The broader Burke organization maintains a Corporate Sustainability Program that reflects long-term commitments to environmental stewardship and responsible construction practices—details available at Sustainability.
TI timelines vary significantly based on project scope, space condition, jurisdiction and the complexity of required permits. Preconstruction (site assessment, budget alignment and design development through BSP Studio) typically precedes any permit submittal. Permit review timelines at Clark County and the City of Las Vegas depend on project complexity and current queue volumes. Construction duration scales with the extent of work: cosmetic refreshes of second-generation spaces move faster than full gray-shell build-outs with new MEP systems. Restaurant and healthcare TIs add regulatory review steps that extend the overall schedule. Rather than quoting a generic range, BSP builds a project-specific schedule in preconstruction that accounts for every situation, so occupancy targets are realistic from day one. Start that conversation on our Contact page.
A key advantage of working with BSP is our in-house capability for Permit Now in Clark County and self-certification in North Las Vegas, shortening traditional permitting timelines to as little as 1-2 weeks.
BSP engages early in the process, whether a lease is just signed, a space has been identified or a remodel is in early planning. Early engagement allows BSP to conduct a site visit, verify the existing space conditions (case-shell, TI remodel), align initial program requirements with budget expectations and identify any permitting or base-building coordination issues before design begins. From there, the BSP Studio design process moves through Pre-Design, Schematic Design, Construction Documentation and Permitting. To request a consultation and connect with BSP’s project team, visit the Contact page, call (702) 367-1040 or email: info@burkecgi.com. View completed projects for inspiration at Our Work.
