Commercial construction projects often face significant delays due to municipal permitting, but according to Mike Marden, a registered architect and licensed general contractor at WDS Architecture in Phoenix, the most damaging setbacks originate before a single document is submitted. Marden, who also runs WDS Commercial, says clients frequently create their own timeline problems by relying on generic city advice rather than project-specific assessments.
One of the most common pitfalls, Marden notes, is when clients call the city and receive a scripted response about typical timelines and requirements. They then treat that conversation as authoritative guidance. “They often say, ‘we already spoke with someone at the city. They said we just turn in this form and this is roughly the time,’” Marden explains. “First of all, that’s not a documented conversation. There is no log number or record. None of that’s official. And everything on the checklist might not even apply.” This can lead to unexpected surprises during the review process, as clients discover that generic checklists include irrelevant requirements while missing essential ones.
Beyond the information gap, Marden points to a structural issue in how projects are sequenced. The conventional approach—complete design, submit for permits, wait for approval, then build—treats permitting as a gate that blocks all progress. While the permit review is underway, the client’s lease clock ticks, the contractor stands by, and trade partners remain idle. This sequential logic adds pure elapsed time with no construction progress. Additionally, clients often finish drawings and then start searching for a contractor, compounding the delay. “Did you think about the gap where you’re bidding and trying to find a contractor, meanwhile, permits are ready and you’ve signed the lease?” Marden asks.
Professionals who consistently meet their permit timelines do so by compressing the process, not by moving faster through it. They engage the city early with preliminary questions, understand what specific inspectors in specific jurisdictions require, and begin construction activities that don’t require permits while review is underway. At WDS Commercial, “We can start building the project as we’re turning in for a permit,” Marden says. “We’re the contractor, already contracted with the Owner, and have spent months participating in the design. If we are questioned or told to turn in drawings, well, we have already done that because we are also the Architect! We can go right up to first inspection with our work, gaining a month versus waiting on bid results, contracts, permits, and mobilization, losing a month or two.”
This parallel approach is only possible when the architect and contractor are integrated from the start. A contractor who receives completed drawings from a separate architect cannot begin construction in parallel because they are waiting on a process they didn’t design and can’t fully interpret. WDS’ dual credentials as both architecture firm and general contractor allow them to mobilize for construction activities outside the permit scope while review is ongoing—staging, layout, scoping, testing, demo, subcontracting, scheduling crews, and ordering materials—compressing the overall project timeline without cutting corners on compliance.
WDS also draws on ongoing relationships with local jurisdictions to develop a realistic picture of what specific projects will require. “Over here, where we do this every day, we know what really needs to go in, how long it’s really going to take,” Marden says. They engage clients on permitting strategy during site selection, before a lease is signed, to help them understand how code compliance requirements, jurisdiction-specific rules, and existing building conditions will affect their timeline. A location that appears attractive on price may carry permitting complexity that adds months, while a more expensive clean site may deliver a faster opening. “It’s like building a project twice, when dealing with existing conditions, removing what is there so that new material can be installed to meet code,” Marden says, citing former restaurant spaces that look ready but require extensive code updates, erasing apparent savings.
For business owners planning a commercial build-out in Phoenix, the practical implication is direct: the permitting timeline they’ve been told to expect likely understates reality, and the gap often originates in decisions made before a permit application is filed—not in city processing speed.
