How Long a 200-Workstation Office Move Takes, with a Planning Timeline in Ortigas

The move itself is the short part. The physical relocation of 200 workstations usually takes a weekend or a few days, and the weeks before it, spent on the lease, the new floor, approvals and telecom, decide your date. Whether the new floor is already fitted or needs a fit-out changes the total by months. This guide gives the one published range we could verify, a method to build your own timeline backward from a target date, and the Ortigas checks that affect it.

A workstation is one seat with a desk, chair and computer setup. A fit-out is the construction, partitions, electrical and air-conditioning work, cabling and furniture that turn a floor into your office. PEZA is the Philippine Economic Zone Authority.

What a published source says

Meyer Inc., a US moving company serving the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, states that an office move takes 1 to 6 months from planning to completion. Its phases are 3 to 6 months of planning (lease review, budget, mover selection), 1 to 3 months pre-move (packing, inventory, communication), 1 to 3 days or more for the move (mid-sized offices about 2 days, large corporate relocations 3 to 5 days or longer), and 1 to 2 weeks after the move for testing and adjustments. It advises starting at least 6 months ahead (Meyer, 9 Feb 2026). These are US figures, which do not cover Philippine permits, building rules or PEZA, so use them only as a reference range.

How much space 200 seats need

The first range comes from operator sites on the FlySpaces Cebu list, and the second is a planning assumption, not a sourced standard. The area drives fit-out time and cost, so settle your density with a space planner early.

Build the timeline backward

Start date = target move date − (the sum of the stages that run in sequence). Stages that can run in parallel count once, at the length of the longest. Ask for the duration of each stage in writing from the party who controls it.

Two further dates constrain you: the notice period in your current lease, and PEZA's evaluation time if you are registered and moving. Here is a worked example. All durations are hypothetical, are not benchmarks, and show how the arithmetic works.

The fitted floor takes about 3 months (13 / 4.33) and the bare shell about 7.6 months (33 / 4.33) in this example. The gap comes from the fit-out, which is why a ready-built floor shortens the plan most. Replace the numbers with your own quotes.

Ortigas checks

Which city. Ortigas Center sits within the joint boundaries of Pasig, Mandaluyong and Quezon City, and most of its skyscrapers are in the Pasig portion (Wikipedia). Business and building permits depend on the city where your building stands, so confirm it. Wikipedia reports that Pasig opened a business one-stop shop at Silver City 4 in 2026 for registration and renewals, which you should verify with the city.

Truck rules. MMDA's light truck ban has restricted trucks on EDSA and Shaw Boulevard at set hours. A 2021 report listed EDSA from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Shaw Boulevard from 6 to 10 a.m. and 5 to 10 p.m., Mondays to Saturdays, and a later guide states EDSA has no ban on Sundays and holidays. The schedule changes, so confirm the current rules with MMDA and your mover.

Building rules. Ask both the current and the new building administration for the notice period, fees and approvals for work permits, gate passes and lift or loading dock bookings for your move date, and for the hours when noisy fit-out work is allowed. We could not verify specific rules for individual Ortigas buildings, so do not assume them.

PEZA. If you are IT-BPM and already registered, PEZA requires notice and a Letter of Authority before you change location (Duran and Duran-Schulze), and a published process summary lists a 20-working-day evaluation. Confirm current requirements and timing with PEZA, and check that the new building and floors are accredited.

Market. Leechiu Property Consultants reported 18% vacancy and an average rent of PHP 738 per sqm per month for Ortigas and Mandaluyong at end-2025 (BusinessWorld, 20 Jan 2026). Higher vacancy can mean more fitted floors to choose from, which shortens the plan. Ask each landlord for what is available now.

Plan the move itself

1. Days for the move = workstations / (crews x workstations per crew per day). Ask your mover for the rate and crew count, and for how it handles IT equipment, since Meyer notes IT can add a week or more if not planned.
2. Decide whether to move in one weekend or in waves. For a 24/7 team, waves let you keep part of the operation running. Our guide to moving a team to BGC explains a wave approach.
3. Keep the old site's connectivity live until the new site has passed testing.
4. Label each person's crates and equipment, and confirm insurance cover for the move.

Questions to ask before you commit

1. How many weeks from signing to a usable floor, with milestones?
2. What approvals, permits and gate passes does the building need, and when?
3. When must the move happen to meet your current lease notice?
4. What are the truck and loading dock rules for your move date?
5. If you are PEZA-registered, how long will the transfer take?

Get a shortlist

Tell FlySpaces your headcount, your target move date and whether you need PEZA, and the team replies with a shortlist that fits. Inquire here