How to find commercial electrical and HVAC work in SF and San José before it's bid

Why the permit comes first

Before a landlord or tenant can build out a space, someone files a building permit with the city. That filing lists the address, a description of the work, an estimated value, and often the floor or suite. On many commercial jobs the electrical and mechanical permits are pulled later, by whichever sub gets the work. That gap, between the building permit and the trade permits, is the window a small shop can use.

Where the records live

• San Francisco: the city's Building Permits dataset on DataSF, updated daily. Each permit shows a status (filed, issued, complete), the existing and proposed use, the estimated cost and a free-text description.
• San José: the city's active building permits on the San José open data portal. Commercial and industrial permits carry "-CI" in the permit number, and each one lists which approvals it covers: building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical. Unlike San Francisco, San José names the contractor on the permit.

What to look for

• The words "MEP deferred" or "under separate permit." In San Francisco, this is the clearest sign that the mechanical, electrical and plumbing haven't been permitted yet.
• A San José permit with only the building approval. If a commercial tenant improvement shows building approval but no electrical or mechanical, that work hasn't been permitted on it.
• Status "filed" rather than "issued." A filed permit is the earliest stage. Plans are in review and the team is often still being put together.
• A named general contractor. On San José permits, that's who to call about sub work.
• A size that fits your shop. For a small shop, interior and tenant work between roughly $150,000 and $2.5 million is the sweet spot. Below that, the owner often uses whoever is already on the building. Above it, big subs usually have it locked up.
• Kitchen words like restaurant, café, walk-in or freezer, if you do refrigeration or hoods.

Three real examples from this month

• 88 Spear St, San Francisco, 9th floor. An office tenant improvement filed Oct 2 at an estimated $2.17 million. The description ends "MEP deferred," and the permit hadn't been issued as of Oct 15.
• 3930 N 1st St, San José. Logitech's tenant improvement, issued Oct 13: $1.3 million, 8,875 sq ft, general contractor SC Builders. Only the building approval is on that permit.
• 685 Coleman Ave, San José. Slice House, a new 2,549 sq ft restaurant, issued Oct 6 at $400,000 with Quality Food Service Construction as general contractor. A refrigeration and hood shop would want to know about it.

What to do with a good one

Call the general contractor if one is named, or the owner's representative if not, and ask whether they're still taking numbers for the electrical or mechanical. Keep it short and specific: the address, the floor, what you do. Then check the permit again in a week or two. A status change from filed to issued, or a new trade permit at the same address, tells you where things stand.

A few honest limits

• Dollar figures are the applicant's estimate, not a contract price.
• "Deferred" means the permit isn't pulled yet, not that nobody has been picked.
• Public records don't show every job. Private work under permit thresholds won't appear.
• Check anything important with the contractor or the city before you act on it.

Doing this every week

None of this is secret. It just takes time: San Francisco and San José together post hundreds of permits a week, and most are houses, signs or jobs too small or too big for a small shop. That's why I started Picker's Desk. Each week we go through the records of 18 Bay Area cities and counties, these two included, and send a short list of the commercial jobs worth a call, filtered to your trade. You can see this week's numbers for each city. If that would save you some time, the Permit Watch pilot is free while we shape it, and I'd value your feedback.

Roger, Picker's Desk