Commercial Renovations

A cosmetic refresh runs $15 to $35 per square foot. A moderate tenant improvement with reconfigured walls, updated lighting, and finished interiors runs $65 to $130 per square foot. Full gut renovations with mechanical, electrical, and plumbing modifications run $180 to $400 per square foot, and specialized fit-outs like commercial kitchens or medical exam space go higher. The per-square-foot number depends more on the scope of MEP work than on the size of the space – which is why we itemize by system rather than quoting a blended rate.

A cosmetic refresh of an existing office runs three to six weeks. A moderate tenant improvement with permit-required work runs three to five months from contract to occupancy, and roughly half of that timeline is pre-construction – design, permit review, landlord approval. Full gut renovations run six to twelve months. Restaurant and medical fit-outs often run longer because of specialized inspection requirements. The permit and approval timeline is usually the pacing item, not the construction itself.

Depends on the scope and the jurisdiction. Cosmetic work usually doesn’t require sealed drawings. Structural modifications, MEP changes, and any change of occupancy classification usually do. We work with architects we’ve collaborated with before on projects that require sealed documents, or with your architect if you have an existing relationship. Bringing the architect into the feasibility conversation early saves cost later – retrofitting design decisions to fit unassessed existing conditions is expensive.

Depends on the scope and the operation. Office tenant improvement work often gets phased so occupied zones stay occupied while active zones get worked. Retail work can sometimes be phased around store hours with a temporary partition dividing sales floor from construction zone. Restaurant work usually requires closure windows for anything involving the kitchen or dining room – the sequencing gets built around the operation rather than the other way around. We work out the phasing plan during pre-construction, not on day one.

We pull the permits and coordinate with the landlord’s construction manager as part of the general contractor scope. That includes plan submission, review comment responses, and inspection scheduling. Landlord approvals for work that affects building systems – anything tying into base building HVAC, sprinklers, fire alarm, or life safety – go through their process on their timeline, which we manage in parallel with the permit process. The client sees status updates in the weekly meeting rather than being pulled into every back-and-forth.

Change orders happen on almost every commercial project – either because the client’s requirements shifted or because existing conditions revealed something the assessment didn’t catch. Our approach is to price and document change orders in writing before the work happens, not after. If a condition is discovered that requires a scope change, we stop the affected work, document the condition, price the change, and get the client’s approval before proceeding. The alternative – doing the work and pricing it after – is how commercial projects end up in disputes at closeout.