Preparing for an Office Relocation

Updated 09/26/2026

A commercial office relocation involves more than moving from one address to another. Before moving day arrives, organizations need to think about the new workplace, the furniture already in the existing office, building requirements, and what needs to happen to everything that will not make the move.

As workplace design continues to evolve, companies may find that their existing furniture no longer fits the way they plan to use their new space. Some pieces may be worth relocating or reusing, while others may need to be donated, recycled, resold, or disposed of.

The key is to consider these decisions early and as part of the overall relocation plan.

The physical move is only one part of a commercial office relocation. The planning process begins much earlier, when an organization starts determining what the new workplace needs and how the existing office will transition out.

Changes in headcount, hybrid work, collaboration needs, and workplace design can all affect how much space and what types of furniture are needed in the new location.

This makes it important to look at both sides of the move at the same time: What needs to be created in the new workplace and what needs to happen to the existing one?

Answering those questions early can help organizations make better decisions about furniture, decommissioning, and the overall scope of the relocation.

Before deciding what to do with existing furniture, it helps to understand how the new office will function.

The layout, number of employees, types of workspaces, meeting areas, private offices, and collaborative spaces can all influence furniture requirements. A company moving into a smaller footprint, for example, may not need all of the workstations, desks, or private office furniture currently in use.

Planning the new workplace provides a clearer picture of what is actually needed.

It can also identify opportunities to incorporate existing furniture into the new design. Some pieces may work in their current form, while others may be better suited to a different application or location.

This approach allows organizations to evaluate what they already have before automatically purchasing new furniture or paying to move items that may not be needed.

Once the needs of the new workplace are understood, the existing furniture can be evaluated.

This evaluation is an important part of office relocation planning because used office furniture does not always have the resale value an organization might expect.

Workplace design trends have changed the demand for many traditional office furnishings. Furniture that once had significant value may have limited demand in today's used market, particularly when organizations are moving toward more collaborative, flexible, and varied workplace environments.

Understanding what can realistically be reused or recovered can help organizations avoid making assumptions about the value of their existing assets.

The next question is what needs to happen to the space the organization is leaving.

Some leases require the office to be returned in a specific condition, often referred to as "broom swept." Depending on the lease, this may mean removing furniture, equipment, cabling, and other infrastructure before the space is turned back over to the landlord.

In some situations, a landlord may allow furniture or infrastructure to remain. However, this is not always an option, so the lease and building requirements should be understood early in the relocation process.

This is where decommissioning becomes an important part of the move.

Decommissioning is more than removing desks and chairs. It may involve coordinating the removal of furniture, equipment, cabling, and other items from the existing workplace, along with determining whether those assets should be reused, donated, recycled, resold, or disposed of.

The scope of this work can have a direct impact on the cost and complexity of the relocation.

With both sides of the move mapped out, the pieces can start coming together. Furniture that is staying with the organization needs to be prepared for relocation. Items that are not moving need to have a clear disposition plan. Decommissioning needs to align with lease and building requirements, while delivery and installation at the new location need to align with the overall move.

The exact sequence will vary from project to project, but the transition generally connects these stages:

The important part is that these decisions are connected. What happens to the existing office can affect the move, just as the design and requirements of the new workplace can affect what happens to existing furniture.

The earlier an organization begins planning its relocation, the more opportunities it has to make thoughtful decisions about its existing assets.

Early planning provides more time to evaluate furniture, identify items that can be reused, explore donation or recycling options, understand lease requirements, and determine the scope of decommissioning.

It also gives the project team more time to address potential issues before they become last-minute problems.

Most importantly, planning the old workplace and the new workplace together can help organizations avoid unnecessary work and expenses. Instead of treating unwanted furniture as something that simply needs to disappear before the lease ends, organizations can consider whether those assets have another useful destination.

These disposition decisions carry an environmental footprint, not just a financial one. Every piece kept out of a landfill, whether it finds a second life with another organization or a community program, is a small win worth factoring into the plan alongside cost and lease requirements. It's one more reason to treat decommissioning as a deliberate part of the relocation rather than an afterthought.

Planning a commercial office relocation?

Understanding the scope of a relocation can help provide a clearer picture of the potential costs involved. If you're in the early planning stages, Apex's ROM Estimator can help you get a preliminary estimate based on factors such as square footage, headcount, workstations, offices, and shared spaces.

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