If you really feel you’re commitment to your building is your #1 priority, then you will usually need to make some compromises in your renovation plan. The only way to determine what’s truly possible, is to hire an architect to help you figure it out. And you will require fully executed architectural plans to gain approval from your co-op board.
Maybe you want a huge kitchen renovation that involves removing a wall. Or you simply have to have a Jacuzzi in the bath reno you’re envisioning. This is definitely one time when what looks like it would work on paper to you, will be put down in five seconds flat by a trained architect. He or she will know whether that wall you’re planning to remove is actually a bearing wall, in which case, removing it could destabilize not only your own dwelling, but have a disastrous impact on the co-ops above and below you as well. And, in many buildings that Jacuzzi may already be prohibited, because the sound of rushing water could interfere with your neighbor’s sleep.