An office build-out turns a leased or owned suite into a working office: private offices, a conference room, a break room, a reception area, data cabling, and the lighting, ceilings, and finishes that make it look like your business.
Wise Builders builds offices for law firms, insurance agencies, accountants, financial advisors, real estate offices, and the landlords who lease to them. One contract, one project manager, one fixed price, and a schedule you can plan your move around.
We hold Alabama General Contractor License #60291. Call (251) 305-7282 before you sign the lease.
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Your tenant improvement allowance is negotiated before the lease is signed. After that, every dollar over the allowance is yours.
Call us while you are still touring spaces. We walk the suite and send:
Most office clients are professional services firms of 3 to 30 people.
Most office build-outs combine the same building blocks. Your layout decides how many of each.
Metal stud partitions with sound insulation between private offices, solid-core doors with commercial hardware, and glass sidelights or storefront fronts where you want light.
Acoustic ceiling grid and tile, LED troffers or recessed lights, occupancy sensors, and emergency and exit lighting where the code calls for it.
Dedicated circuits, floor and wall outlets where desks actually go, and conduit pathways for data and security. We coordinate your low-voltage vendor so the cabling goes in before the ceiling closes.
A break room with cabinets, a sink, and appliance circuits, and restrooms brought up to ADA when the code requires it.
Duct changes so every new office gets supply and return air, plus sprinkler heads and fire alarm devices relocated to fit the new walls.
Carpet tile, LVT, or polished concrete, wall base, paint, and millwork for reception desks and built-ins.
Office build-out cost depends on how much of the existing space you can keep. A second-generation office with the right layout can be refreshed for a fraction of a full build-out.
Typical Gulf Coast ranges for a 2,500 square foot office. Your walk-through replaces these with one fixed price.
| Project | Cost per Sq Ft | Example Total | On-Site Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light refreshpaint, flooring, LED lighting, no walls moved | $15 to $35 | $38,000 to $88,000 | 2 to 4 weeks |
| Second-generation refreshabout a quarter of the walls moved, existing HVAC and electrical reused | $45 to $85 | $113,000 to $213,000 | 5 to 8 weeks |
| Full build-outopen office, 4 to 6 private offices, conference room, break room | $95 to $140 | $238,000 to $350,000 | 8 to 12 weeks |
| High-finish build-outglass office fronts, millwork, feature ceilings and lighting | $140 to $200+ | $350,000 to $500,000+ | 10 to 14 weeks |
Cushman & Wakefield's 2026 guide puts the U.S. average for a new office fit-out at $162 per square foot. Gulf Coast labor and smaller, simpler offices bring most local projects in below that.
Three costs sit outside most build-out bids. Plan for them before you sign the lease.
Data cabling, Wi-Fi, conference room AV, and access control usually run 10 to 12% of the fit-out cost and are almost never in the contractor's number. We coordinate the vendor so it lands in the schedule.
Desks, chairs, and conference tables often add 20% or more on top of construction. Order early; lead times can outlast the build-out.
Drawings, the life-safety plan, and permit fees are real costs. We carry them inside our fixed price so they do not show up later.
Ranges are hard construction costs, adjusted to the Gulf Coast from national 2026 data: Cushman & Wakefield Office and Retail Fit-Out Cost Guides, Terrapin Construction Group 2026 tenant improvement and medical office cost guides, and published dental build-out guides. Furniture, equipment, IT cabling, and signage are not included unless noted.
"Jim Brock is the best project manager ever! He constantly communicated with me about the materials, build and timeline. No stones were unturned! Exceptional work by his team."
Every commercial build-out runs through one contract and one project manager. You make decisions; we carry the schedule, the subs, the permits, and the inspections.
We walk the space with you and measure it. We check what is already there: the electrical service, HVAC capacity and duct layout, sprinkler heads, fire alarm devices, restrooms, and the slab. Those existing conditions decide the budget on an office build-out more than the finishes do.
You get a written scope of work with every task, allowance, and exclusion listed, plus a fixed price and a schedule. Take that number into your lease negotiation and compare it line by line with any other bid.
Most commercial permits need drawings, and many need a life-safety plan showing exits, emergency lighting, and fire separation. We bring in the architect or engineer, carry their fee in the price, and keep the drawings tied to the budget.
We file with the department that has your address: Build Mobile inside city limits, Mobile County or Baldwin County for unincorporated addresses, and the city building department in Daphne, Fairhope, Foley, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, and the other incorporated cities. We also handle the landlord's approval package and certificates of insurance.
Your project manager runs every trade and every inspection. In occupied centers we follow the landlord's rules for access, noise, and after-hours work. If the owner changes the plan or we open a wall and find a problem, it becomes a written change order you approve before we do the work.
We pass the final building and fire inspections, walk the space with you, and finish the punch list. Closeout includes lien waivers, warranties, and the paperwork your landlord and insurer ask for, so you can get your certificate of occupancy and open.
"Great people, great work and great experience. Great communication by William Fields. Work was done on schedule and exactly as stated. I will use these guys again!"
This was not an office, but it shows how we run a commercial build-out: a second-generation suite, a new layout, metal stud walls, a new ceiling, and every life-safety item the permit called for.
| Project detail | What we built |
|---|---|
| Location | The Wharf, Orange Beach, Alabama |
| Use | Breakout Games escape rooms, two suites |
| Schedule | Contract in March 2026, closed out in June 2026 |
| Framing | 11-foot metal stud partitions, a new control room, door openings widened and new headers |
| Ceilings and lighting | 2x2 acoustic ceiling grid and tile, LED recessed lights, owner-supplied specialty fixtures |
| Life safety | Rush life-safety plan from the architect, sprinkler heads relocated, fire alarm devices moved, 7 emergency lights, a fire strobe, and panic hardware on two exits |
| Finishes | High-traffic carpet, LVP, epoxy-coated concrete, themed paint, wall-mounted desk surfaces, and blocking for game components |
The layout changed more than once during framing, and the life-safety review added emergency lighting and exit hardware. Every one of those changes went into a written change order, priced and signed before the crew moved a wall. That is how a build-out stays under control when the plan moves.
A two-suite tenant build-out at The Wharf in Orange Beach, and two PVC roof retrofits over metal buildings in Mobile County.
See the full build-out on our retail build-out page and both roofs on our commercial roofing page.
You get one project manager from the walk-through to the final inspection. Owner Cody stays involved on commercial jobs, and the office tracks submittals, change orders, and pay applications.
The scope lists every task, allowance, and exclusion. The price changes only through a written change order you sign before the work happens.
Large commercial contractors often pass on spaces under 5,000 square feet. Spaces under 2,500 square feet are our sweet spot, and the job gets a dedicated project manager, not whoever is free.
Wise Builders holds Alabama General Contractor License #60291 from the Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors. We also hold Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board license #28471, carry general liability and workers' compensation, and are BBB accredited.
Before you sign with anyone, ask for the license number and look it up on the board's website. Ask for a certificate of insurance naming you and your landlord as additional insured. We send ours with the proposal.
"The contract was clear and all work was performed on schedule. A certificate of compliance was issued by a third party after inspection. It is refreshing to find a company like this."
On the Gulf Coast, office build-outs typically run $15 to $200 per square foot. A light refresh with no wall changes is $15 to $35. A second-generation refresh is $45 to $85. A full build-out with private offices, a conference room, and a break room is $95 to $140, and high-finish offices run higher. For 2,500 square feet, a full build-out is roughly $238,000 to $350,000.
A refresh takes 2 to 8 weeks on site. A full build-out takes 8 to 12 weeks, and a high-finish office 10 to 14 weeks, after the permit is issued. We set the schedule before you sign so your rent start date matches your move-in.
A tenant improvement allowance is the amount per square foot the landlord pays toward your build-out. It is negotiated before you sign the lease, so get a contractor's written price first. Anything over the allowance is your cost.
Yes. On remodels of occupied offices we phase the work, schedule loud and dusty tasks after hours or on weekends, and keep your team working.
Most commercial permits need drawings, and many need a life-safety plan. We bring the architect or engineer onto our team and carry their fee in the fixed price, so you have one contract.
We run the conduit pathways and coordinate your IT or low-voltage vendor so cabling is pulled before the ceiling tile goes in. If you do not have a vendor, we will bring one.
Yes. We handle the landlord's approval package, certificates of insurance, building rules, and lien waivers, so you are not the middleman between your contractor and your landlord.
Your office build-out starts with a walk-through and a written, fixed price. Call before you sign the lease and we will give you the number you need to negotiate.
Wise Builders Roofing and Renovations holds Alabama General Contractor License #60291 and brings one project manager, one written scope, and one fixed price to every commercial job in Mobile and Baldwin County.
Call our Mobile headquarters at (251) 305-7282 or our Foley office at (251) 270-5270, or send the form and we will set a walk-through of your space.
Wise Builders Roofing and Renovations, 6215 Rangeline Rd #105, Theodore, AL 36582 and 105 W Camphor Ave #100A, Foley, AL 36535.
"William is great to work with. Wise Builders are extremely thorough and professional. Everything was done exactly how and when they said it would be. A++++"