A retail build-out turns a leased storefront into a store customers want to walk into: a sales floor, fitting rooms, a cash wrap, stock room, restroom, lighting that sells the product, and finishes that match your brand.
Wise Builders builds retail spaces for boutiques, salons and spas, specialty shops, and entertainment venues, plus the shopping-center landlords who lease to them. One contract, one project manager, one fixed price, and an opening date we plan backward from.
We hold Alabama General Contractor License #60291. Call (251) 305-7282 to walk your storefront.
★★★★★ 5.0 on Google · 160+ verified reviews · Alabama GC License #60291 · Licensed, bonded & insured
Every store is different, but most retail build-outs use the same pieces. Your layout and your landlord's design criteria decide the rest.
Storefront glass and doors, ADA-compliant entries and hardware, and coordination with your sign vendor and the center's sign criteria.
Open floor plans, display walls with blocking for fixtures, track and accent lighting on separate circuits, and ceilings that can be open, painted, or acoustic grid.
Fitting rooms with ADA clearances, a cash wrap with power and data, and a stock room with shelving and a back door that meets exit rules.
Customer or staff restrooms built to ADA, plus the shampoo bowls, sinks, and water heaters salons and spas need.
Metal stud walls, feature walls, LVP, tile, polished or epoxy-coated concrete, wall base, and paint matched to your brand standards.
Exit signs, emergency lighting, sprinkler and fire alarm changes, and panic hardware where occupancy requires it.
Retail tenants come to us when the lease is signed and the opening date is set.
Center owners and property managers use us for the base building work.
Retail build-out cost swings with plumbing and storefront work. A boutique in a second-generation suite costs far less than a salon that needs plumbing at every station in a dark shell.
Typical Gulf Coast ranges for a 2,000 square foot in-line store. Your walk-through replaces these with one fixed price.
| Project | Cost per Sq Ft | Example Total | On-Site Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vanilla refreshpaint, flooring, lighting | $15 to $45 | $30,000 to $90,000 | 2 to 4 weeks |
| Standard retailsales floor, stock room, restroom | $40 to $75 | $80,000 to $150,000 | 4 to 8 weeks |
| Mid-tier in-line storecustom fixture walls, fitting rooms, upgraded lighting | $90 to $130 | $180,000 to $260,000 | 8 to 12 weeks |
| High-end boutiquepremium finishes, millwork, feature lighting | $130 to $225 | $260,000 to $450,000 | 10 to 14 weeks |
Cushman & Wakefield's 2026 Retail Fit-Out Cost Guide puts a Southeast in-line store at $126 per square foot, about 20% below the national average. Salons and spas usually run higher than standard retail because of plumbing at every station.
These items sit outside many retail bids or get found at plan review. We price them up front.
New storefront glass on the Gulf Coast has to meet wind-borne debris rules, which means impact-rated glass or approved protection. That costs more than standard glazing, so we price it on day one.
The plumbing code sets how many restrooms your occupancy needs. Change the use of a suite and you may need more fixtures than the last tenant had.
Your sign, the sign permit, and the center's tenant criteria all carry cost and approval time. We line them up with the build-out schedule.
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."
Breakout Games at The Wharf needed two suites built out around a game design that kept evolving. Here is what went into it.
| 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.
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 a retail 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. Your opening date goes in the schedule first, and we plan every inspection backward from it.
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!"
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, retail build-outs typically run $15 to $225 per square foot. A vanilla refresh is $15 to $45, standard retail $40 to $75, a mid-tier store $90 to $130, and a high-end boutique $130 to $225. For a 2,000 square foot store, a standard build-out is roughly $80,000 to $150,000.
A refresh takes 2 to 4 weeks on site. A standard retail build-out takes 4 to 8 weeks, and a mid-tier or high-end store 8 to 14 weeks, after the permit is issued. We plan the schedule backward from your opening date.
Yes. Send us the brand package and the landlord's tenant criteria. We price to both, flag anything that conflicts with local code, and submit for the landlord's and the brand's approval before we build.
Yes. Salons and spas need plumbing at shampoo bowls and treatment rooms, larger water heaters, and more electrical than most retail. We price those systems in the base scope, not as surprises later.
Yes. We follow the landlord's rules on hours, deliveries, noise, dumpsters, and insurance, and we send certificates of insurance and lien waivers with each pay application.
We coordinate your sign vendor, provide blocking and power at the sign location, and make sure the sign permit lines up with the build-out schedule.
Your retail build-out starts with a walk-through and a written, fixed price built around your opening date.
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++++"