Owner Tools · Calculator

Buildout Ballpark

Four choices in, an honest range out. This is the number you should have in your head before you negotiate the lease — because your TI allowance only means something next to the real cost of the work.

Inputs

Your project

Usable square feet you're building out, not the whole building.

Vanilla: walls, ceiling, HVAC distributed, restrooms in. The usual starting line.

Bid tabulation · market range

$186K – $312K
Estimated construction cost · range, not a bid
$186K$312K
Cost per square foot$62 – $104 /sf
Construction schedule8 – 14 weeks
Recommended contingency+ 10% · $19K – $31K
Design & engineering (typ.)8 – 12% of construction

Ranges reflect typical Utah commercial work at 2026 pricing. Your building, your city, and your lease will move these numbers — in both directions.

Sanity-check this number

What this number does NOT include

  • Permits & impact fees — wildly jurisdiction-specific; budget separately.
  • Design fees — architect + engineers typically run 8–12% on top.
  • FF&E — furniture, fixtures, equipment. Restaurants: kitchen equipment alone can rival the buildout.
  • Low-voltage / IT / security — data cabling, AV, cameras, access control.
  • Signage — exterior signs plus the permits for them.
  • Rent during construction — negotiate abatement in the LOI, not after.
  • Utility connection & meter fees — a gray-shell classic surprise.

Any bid that looks dramatically cheaper than this range is usually missing scope, not finding savings. That's exactly what the 12 Questions are for.