A white box build-out turns a raw or worn-out commercial suite into a clean, code-ready shell a tenant can move into and finish. Walls are up and painted, the ceiling grid and lighting are in, HVAC reaches the space, the restroom meets ADA, and the floor is ready for finish.
Wise Builders builds white boxes for landlords, property managers, and investors who need a suite on the market fast with a budget they can count on. One contract, one project manager, one fixed price.
We hold Alabama General Contractor License #60291. Call (251) 305-7282 to walk your suite.
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Brokers use three terms for the condition a suite is delivered in. Knowing which one you are building changes the budget more than anything else on this page.
Four walls, a roof, a slab, and utilities stubbed to the suite. No interior walls, no ceiling, no restroom, often no HVAC distribution. The tenant or landlord builds everything from here.
The space a tenant can finish. Demising walls taped, primed, and painted, a ceiling grid with lighting, HVAC distributed, an ADA restroom, electrical panel and outlets to code, sprinklers and fire alarm adjusted, and a sealed or flooring-ready slab.
A white box plus the tenant's layout and finishes: offices, counters, flooring, millwork, and branding. That is our office, retail, and medical work.
Most white box clients are on the ownership side of the lease.
Every lease defines it differently. These are the items we price on a typical Gulf Coast white box.
A white box price depends on where the suite starts. A second-generation space that only needs demolition, patching, and a new ceiling costs far less than a dark shell with nothing but a slab and a stubbed sewer line.
Typical Gulf Coast ranges for a 2,000 square foot suite. Your walk-through replaces these with one fixed price.
| Project | Cost per Sq Ft | Example Total | On-Site Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Second-generation cosmetic resetdemo old finishes, patch and paint, new ceiling tile, relamp | $15 to $30 | $30,000 to $60,000 | 3 to 5 weeks |
| Second-generation full resetremove partitions, new grid and LED lighting, re-duct HVAC, ADA restroom upgrade | $30 to $50 | $60,000 to $100,000 | 4 to 7 weeks |
| Dark shell to white boxone ADA restroom, utilities stubbed in | $40 to $65 | $80,000 to $130,000 | 6 to 10 weeks |
| Dark shell to white boxnew rooftop HVAC, two restrooms, sprinkler and alarm extension | $65 to $95 | $130,000 to $190,000 | 8 to 12 weeks |
The two numbers that move a white box budget most are the HVAC and the restrooms. A suite with a healthy rooftop unit and an existing restroom that only needs ADA updates lands at the low end. A dark shell that needs new HVAC and two new restrooms lands at the high end.
These line items explain most of the gap between a white box bid and the final invoice. We put them in writing before work starts.
An old or undersized rooftop unit can wipe out a white box budget. We check age, tonnage, and condition on the walk-through. A replacement in Mobile County needs engineered tie-downs for wind.
Federal rules can require up to 20% of the alteration cost to go toward an accessible entrance, route, and restrooms. We price it up front instead of finding it at plan review.
The last tenant's walls, flooring, cabinets, and ceiling all have to come out before the new work goes in. Second-generation suites always carry this cost.
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."
A white box costs the landlord money up front. Here is why most small-center owners do it anyway.
Tenants and brokers picture their business in a clean, lit, painted space. A dark shell with exposed studs asks the tenant to picture everything, and most will not.
When the landlord builds the base, the tenant improvement allowance only has to cover the tenant's finishes. You set the base quality and the price, not the tenant's contractor.
A white-boxed suite lets a tenant start finish work as soon as the lease is signed. Fewer months of free rent while the space gets built.
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 white box 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. Landlords use that number to set asking rent and the tenant improvement allowance before the suite is marketed.
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!"
The tenant took a second-generation suite and needed a new layout built inside it. The base work was white box work: demising and partition walls, a new ceiling grid, lighting, and the life-safety items the permit required.
| 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."
A white box, or vanilla shell, is a suite delivered with finished and painted walls, a ceiling grid with lighting, HVAC distributed, an ADA restroom, electrical to code, and a slab ready for flooring. The tenant adds the layout and finishes.
A gray or dark shell is the bare structure: walls, roof, slab, and utilities stubbed in. A white box adds the interior basics a tenant needs before finishing: drywall, ceiling, lighting, HVAC distribution, a restroom, and electrical.
On the Gulf Coast, a white box typically runs $15 to $95 per square foot. A second-generation reset with good HVAC and an existing restroom sits at $15 to $50. A dark shell that needs restrooms, HVAC distribution, and sprinkler work runs $40 to $95. For a 2,000 square foot suite, that is roughly $30,000 to $190,000.
Most white boxes take 3 to 12 weeks on site after the permit is issued. A cosmetic reset of a second-generation suite is on the short end; a dark shell with new restrooms and a rooftop unit is on the long end. Permit review adds time before construction starts.
Yes. Framing, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and any sprinkler or fire alarm change all need permits and inspections. We file with the city or county that has your address and schedule every inspection.
The lease decides. Most often the landlord pays for the white box and gives the tenant an allowance for finishes. We price the base and the finishes separately so both sides know what they are paying for.
Yes. We send photo updates, a written schedule, certificates of insurance, and lien waivers with every pay application, so an owner who never visits the site knows exactly where the job stands.
Your white box starts with a walk-through and a written, fixed price. There is nothing to pay and nothing to sign to find out what your suite will take.
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++++"