Skip to content

Residential, commercial and industrial design

Steel frame of an industrial building on its new slab

Industrial · Design and permit drawings

Industrial design and permit drawings in Toronto.

We design industrial unit alterations, additions and new buildings where the whole building, after the work, stays within 3 storeys and 600 m², with engineers on the structure and systems. Past either limit an architect or engineer designs it. We check that, and site plan approval, first.

Get a written quote
4.8 on Google
51 reviews
(opens in a new tab)
5.0 on HomeStars
273 reviews
(opens in a new tab)
houzz
4.9 on Houzz
16 reviews
(opens in a new tab)
BCIN registered
Insured · 20+ years

What are you planning?

Three kinds of industrial work, each with its own page.

Pick the one closest to your project: what the City and the law ask of it, who must design each part, and what it costs.
Industrial workIndustrial unit alterationsOffices, washrooms and demising walls in a unit.Industrial workNew industrial buildingsWarehouses and workshops up to 3 storeys and 600 m².Industrial workHVAC coordinationWho may design your HVAC, in one permit set.

In four numbers

The whole building after the work, every floor above ground. Past it, or past 3 storeys, an architect or a professional engineer designs it.ontario.ca (opens in a new tab)
600 m²
All the industrial buildings on the lands together: up to this, a new one can be exempt from site plan approval, with exceptions.toronto.ca (opens in a new tab)
2,000 m²
The City's 2026 permit fee for a finished industrial building or warehouse; $12.37 as a shell.toronto.ca (opens in a new tab)
$17.01/m²
Industrial uses pay no City development charges: manufacturing, warehousing, distribution and their offices.toronto.ca (opens in a new tab)
Exempt

Does this sound like my property?

Most industrial projects start with one of these.

If one sounds like yours, say so in your request, and Rocco starts from there.
  • Stock photo of a brick workshop under construction with a new steel-framed metal roof and a roll-up door

    A new industrial building

    You are putting up a new industrial, manufacturing or warehouse building and need to know whether it needs an architect, an engineer or site plan approval.

  • Stock photo of a steel-framed building under construction, with excavators levelling the ground in front

    An addition to your building

    You are adding to an existing industrial building and want to know whether the addition stays inside the City's site plan exemption.

  • Stock photo of an empty new industrial unit with a polished floor, yellow-guarded steel columns and high-bay lights

    Fitting out or converting a unit

    You are fitting out or converting an industrial unit and need building permit drawings for the work.

  • Stock photo of a hand on a mouse beside a marked-up drawing, a pen and a calculator on a desk

    Engineers in one permit set

    Your project needs engineers for structure, HVAC, plumbing or sprinklers, and one office to pull their drawings and ours into a single submission.

Does my project need an architect?

It depends on the size and use of the whole building.

Ontario's Architects Act sets the line at 3 storeys and 600 m², counting every floor above ground of the whole building after the work, not just your unit.
Stock photo of a small concrete-block warehouse with two truck loading doors and a parking lot in front

No architect needed

We design it

  • A building of up to 3 storeys and 600 m², used for industry, offices or shops.
  • Interior work in a building of any size, when it leaves the structure, fire separations, exits, the main entrance and outside walls alone, and adds no floor space.
Stock photo of the white roof of a very large warehouse seen from the air, with parking and fields around it

Past the line

An architect or engineer designs it

  • A building of more than 3 storeys or 600 m².
  • A building made to house an engineered process, at any size: a professional engineer designs it.

Not sure which side yours is on? We check it from the survey before any drawing starts.

Ask us to checkArchitects Act, s. 11 (opens in a new tab)Professional Engineers Act, s. 12 (opens in a new tab)

What will it take?

What the law requires for an industrial project, and what we design.

The rules in plain English, each linked to its source, then every sheet in the set and each step from start to finish.

In short

  • Size, use and site plan exemption checked against the law before any drawing starts
  • BCIN classes for this work: Small Buildings, and Large Buildings for interiors
  • Our fee in writing, apart from the City's and the engineers'
Stock photo of an aerial view of low commercial and industrial buildings, parking lots and empty lots beside a highway

The Architects Act lets a designer who is not an architect design an industrial building of up to 3 storeys and 600 m² of gross area: every floor above grade of the whole building, after the work. Past either limit an architect or a professional engineer must design it. In a bigger building, a designer like us may still draw interior work that does not affect the structure, a fire safety system or fire separation, a main entrance, public corridor or exit, or an exterior wall, and adds no floor area.

ontario.ca · Architects Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. A.26, ss. 11(3)(a), 11(3)(e) and 11(4) (e-Laws) (opens in a new tab)

Who designs which part?

One permit set, with the right designer on every part.

On a commercial or industrial building, the Building Code and the Architects Act decide who may design each part. We draw the building where the law allows it, then fold the engineers' drawings into one set the City reviews together.
  • Stock photo of a pencil sketch of a building on paper, with markers and tape on a wooden deskOur part

    The building

    Layout, walls, exits, fire separations and the outside of the building

    Designed byArchitalcan, BCIN-registered, while the whole building stays within 3 storeys and 600 m². Past that, an architect or a professional engineer.

  • Stock photo of red steel beams and columns of a building frame against a pale sky

    Structure

    Beams, columns, footings, slabs and any new opening in a wall

    Designed byA professional engineer, or a designer registered in Building Structural.

  • Stock photo of a rooftop heating and cooling unit and two small condensers on a flat roof with a ladder and patches of snow

    Heating, cooling and ventilation

    Rooftop units, ductwork, exhaust and energy efficiency

    Designed byA professional engineer, or a designer registered in Building Services. Architalcan's HVAC class covers houses only.

  • Stock photo of red sprinkler pipes hung beneath the dark roof of a building under construction

    Sprinklers and fire alarm

    Sprinkler piping, alarm and detection

    Designed byEngineers, or designers registered for that work: Fire Protection; Detection, Lighting and Power.

  • Stock photo of two copper water pipes running up inside an opened wall

    Plumbing

    Washrooms, drains and water supply

    Designed byAn engineer, or a designer registered in Plumbing – All Buildings.

  • Stock photo of a long warehouse aisle lined with blue and orange pallet racking, with loading doors along the far wall

    Racking with walkways

    Storage racking with raised platforms or walkways for staff

    Designed byA professional engineer, as the Building Code requires, whatever the building's size.

What does it cost?

Design and permit fees for an industrial project: the City's, and ours.

The City's bill, ours and the engineer's, kept apart. The City's permit fees follow its published 2026 schedules and are paid when each application is filed; development charges and parkland are due before the building permit is issued. Ours is quoted in writing; an engineer's or consultant's fee, where one is needed, is quoted on its own.

Paid to the City of Toronto

New building or addition, City fee
$17.01/m²
2026 rate for a finished industrial building or warehouse under 7,500 m²; $12.37/m² as a shell. Paid to the City when the application is filed.
Interior alteration permit, City fee
$11.53/m²
2026 rate for industrial space, per m² of the area receiving the work, mezzanines included.
Minimum City fee
$214.79
2026 minimum charged for any building permit work.
Development charges, City by-law
Exempt for industrial uses
Toronto's development charges by-law exempts industrial uses: manufacturing, warehousing, distribution and related research, with their accessory offices. A building used only for offices, a warehouse club or a retail warehouse is not exempt.

Paid to Architalcan

Design and permit set, our fee
In writing
Quoted after the zoning review, from the survey, the use and the scope.

Paid to the engineer or other designer

Engineers and other designers, their fee
Their own quote
Structural, mechanical and any racking, plumbing or fire protection design is quoted separately by each engineer or designer.

Who will draw it?

Architalcan Design, led by Rocco Schipano, BCIN-registered designer.

Where the law requires an architect or engineer, they design and seal that work. Rated 5.0 from 273 reviews on HomeStars. The photos are from Architalcan's Houzz and HomeStars project albums.
Finished industrial building with a loading door
1 / 3

Photos from Architalcan's Houzz and HomeStars albums.

Renovation of a semi in Toronto

Rocco was efficient and effective. He worked closely with us to ensure the design meets our needs and recommended valuable solutions that we previously weren't aware of. We got the permit within a reasonable amount of time despite submitting it just before the holidays.

HomeOwner · Jan 17, 2025
Read all 273 on HomeStars (opens in a new tab)
Registration
BCIN 25897 – 41741 Look up the BCIN
Classes
House · Small Buildings · Large Buildings · HVAC-House
On the drawings
The designer's name, BCIN and signature, as Toronto Building requires; engineer-designed sheets carry the engineer's seal. Why the City asks (opens in a new tab)
About Rocco and the firm

How do I start?

Get a written quote for your industrial project.

Send the address, the building's use and its approximate size and storeys. Rocco checks the size limits, the zoning and the site plan question, and replies in writing with the drawings and engineers you need and a quote.

Step 2 of 3 · Property

Project:Industrial

Where is the property?
Do you have a property survey?

A survey lets us confirm setbacks and buildable area from the start. No survey? We'll tell you how to get one.

BCIN registered · Insured · 20+ years in Toronto

CallWhatsApp (opens in a new tab)Email

Questions before you send it

Do I need an architect or an engineer?

Not for the building design, if the whole building after the work stays within 3 storeys and 600 m² of gross area (every floor above grade) and is not built to house an engineered process. Past either limit an architect or a professional engineer must design it and review the construction. In a bigger building we can still draw interior work that leaves the structure, fire separations, exits and exterior walls alone. Either way the structure is designed by an engineer or a designer registered in Building Structural, and racking with raised platforms or walkways for staff by an engineer.

Does my industrial project need site plan approval?

Not always. A new industrial, manufacturing or warehouse building can be exempt when all such buildings on the lands stay within 2,000 m² of gross floor area (or the zoning maximum, if greater) and none of the excluded uses apply. Additions can be exempt up to the greater of 25% of the existing industrial floor area or 1,000 m². Approval can still be required for a road widening, for safety or access matters the City wants to secure, or near a railway, ravine or the lake. We check this first, from your survey and the zoning.

Do I need a building permit for a change of use with no construction?

Toronto Building says yes, even when no construction is proposed. The Building Code Act ties it to the hazard: the Building Code's change-of-use table marks which changes need one, so confirm with Toronto Building before relying on an exception. If the change comes with alterations, their building permit covers it.

Who designs the HVAC, plumbing and sprinklers?

Engineers, or designers registered in the Building Code's classes for that work: Building Services for heating, cooling and ventilation, Plumbing – All Buildings, and Fire Protection. The firm's HVAC class, HVAC-House, covers houses only. We coordinate their drawings with ours so the set goes in as one.

Who signs the drawings?

Our drawings carry BCIN 25897 – 41741; Ontario's registry lists the firm's classes as House, Small Buildings, Large Buildings and HVAC-House. Where the law requires an architect or engineer, they design that work and sign the Commitment to General Reviews.

What does the City charge?

Toronto Building's 2026 rate for a new industrial building or addition under 7,500 m² is $17.01 per m² finished or $12.37 per m² as a shell. Interior alterations in industrial space are $11.53 per m² of the area of work, with a $214.79 minimum for any permit. Toronto's development charges exempt industrial uses. Our fee is separate and quoted in writing.

Often done together

Not on the list?

Send the address