Estimate Desk
Tenant improvement cost estimate
Office or light retail inside an existing shell. Restaurants and structural openings are not this calculator. The band is a Kitsap planning range, about ±15%, not a contract price.
Default scenario
1,200 sf standard office, existing HVAC plant stays
$112,000 – $151,000
Office and retail tenant improvements, priced per square foot by finish.
Planning band
$112,000 – $151,000
About 18 working days on site. Not a bid.
Line items, notes and what is not in the band are below the form.
Planning bandLine items and notes
$112,000 – $151,000
Point total about $132,000 · about 18 working days on site
Material and labor of the unit-priced lines: Material $55,242 · Labor $73,278
Default scenario: 1,200 sf standard office, existing HVAC plant stays. Not a contract price. The band is the point total plus or minus 15%, a planning allowance we set for early estimates, not a measured accuracy. Prices include materials, labor, JKM overhead and fee, and 9.3% Washington sales tax. Working days on site are crew days. Design, permits and material lead times add calendar time before and between them.
| Item | Qty | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Partitions, finishes, doors, and devices | 1,200 sf | $102,600 |
| Light HVAC distribution allowance | 1,200 sf | $14,400 |
| Selective demo and haul | 1,200 sf | $11,520 |
| Permit allowance | 1 ls | $3,000 |
Notes
- Assumes the shell, restrooms, and main HVAC plant stay. A restaurant, medical suite, or structural opening is a different estimate.
- After-hours work and a landlord's required contractor are not in the rate.
Not in this band
- Hazardous-material abatement. Asbestos and lead are common on pre-1978 houses and are separately licensed work.
- Structural repair discovered after demolition.
- A new electrical panel, water service, or septic, unless that line is on this estimate.
- Design fees, except where a drawing line is shown.
- Financing and temporary housing. (Washington sales tax, 9.3%, is included in these prices.)
Planning band for Kitsap County. Not a bid. A site visit sets the number.
What the tenant improvement estimate covers
The tenant improvement estimate prices an interior build-out inside an existing commercial shell, such as an office or a light-retail space. You enter the area and choose one of three finish levels, paint and patch, standard office or reception-grade, and you can switch selective demolition on or off. The finish sets the base rate, and a light HVAC distribution allowance and the permit allowance are lines of their own.
The default is a standard office of modest size with selective demolition, and the main HVAC plant stays.
What moves the number
Area is the base, and the finish level moves the rate in steps. Paint and patch is the lightest and has no HVAC distribution line. A standard office adds partitions, finishes, doors and devices, and reception-grade raises each of those. Selective demolition adds a per-square-foot line for taking out what is there and hauling it away.
The permit allowance scales with the area and has a floor, so a small suite still carries a visible permit line. Days on site follow the area, with a fixed number of days added to the start for setup.
What the estimate assumes
The notes spell out the assumptions. The shell, the restrooms and the main HVAC plant stay where they are, and the HVAC line is only for distributing air inside the space. A restaurant, a medical suite or a structural opening is a different estimate. If your project is a medical or dental suite, our medical and dental build-out service is where that conversation starts.
What is not in the band
After-hours work and a landlord’s required contractor are not in the rate. Both depend on the lease, and both can change the number. The band also leaves out hazardous-material abatement, which is a real question in older commercial buildings, structural repair found once ceilings and walls are open, a new electrical panel or water service unless shown, design fees and financing. Washington sales tax is already included in the prices.
Commercial work involves the permit office early, and which office it is depends on where the building sits. Our permit guides explain how the five Kitsap authorities divide the communities. Use the band to test a lease or a budget, then ask for a site visit so we can walk the space, check the existing systems and read the lease requirements before we write the real estimate.
Scope ladder
Tenant improvement: three scopes compared
Each row is the Estimate Desk engine run on the inputs listed, so these numbers move whenever the desk does. They are planning bands, about ±15%, not bids.
| Scope and what was priced | Planning band |
|---|---|
Paint and patchPaint, flooring patch and minor devices in an existing space, with no selective demolition and no HVAC distribution work.
| $33,000 – $45,000Point total about $39,000About 18 working days |
Standard officeDesk defaultPartitions, finishes, doors and devices for a standard office, with light HVAC distribution and selective demolition.
| $112,000 – $151,000Point total about $132,000About 18 working days |
Reception-gradeReception-grade partitions, finishes, doors and devices, with light HVAC distribution and selective demolition.
| $168,000 – $228,000Point total about $198,000About 18 working days |
Questions
Tenant improvement estimates: common questions
What does the tenant improvement estimate assume before I change anything?
The starting band, $112,000 – $151,000, is the default scenario (1,200 sf standard office, existing HVAC plant stays). It prices partitions, finishes, doors and devices, a light HVAC distribution allowance, selective demolition and a permit allowance.
Does the tenant improvement estimate cover a restaurant or a medical suite?
No. It assumes the shell, the restrooms and the main HVAC plant stay. A restaurant, a medical suite or a structural opening is a different estimate.
What is not in the tenant improvement rate?
After-hours work and a landlord's required contractor. If your lease says who must do the work or when it can be done, tell us at the site visit, because both can change the number.
How is a tenant improvement priced?
By the square foot, from three finish levels, which are paint and patch, standard office and reception-grade. The finish level sets the base rate and the HVAC allowance, and demolition is a switch with its own rate.
A site visit sets the number
Bring your result to the walk. We measure, check what is behind the walls, and replace the planning band with a written estimate.