Insights

Commercial fit-outs: budgets, permits & deadlines.

Fit-out costs per square foot for office, retail, restaurant and clinic space in Metro Vancouver, the permits involved, and a week-by-week timeline that protects your opening date.

ProcessJuly 20267 min read

Commercial fit-outs live and die by one number: the opening date. Rent starts, staff are hired, launches are announced — so the budget and schedule have to be real from day one. Here's what spaces actually cost and how the calendar really runs.

What fit-outs cost by space type

$125$250$375$500Office fit-outOffice fit-out: $80–$160 /sq ft$80–$160 /sq ftRetailRetail: $100–$200 /sq ft$100–$200 /sq ftClinic / medicalClinic / medical: $180–$320 /sq ft$180–$320 /sq ftRestaurant / food serviceRestaurant / food service: $250–$450 /sq ft$250–$450 /sq ft
Representative Metro Vancouver tenant-improvement ranges, base building to opening-ready. Kitchens, medical gas and ventilation are what push restaurants and clinics upward.

The timeline that protects your opening

Wk 0Wk 7Wk 14Wk 21Wk 28Design & drawingsDesign & drawings: 4–6 wks4–6 wksPermits (TI stream)Permits (TI stream): 6–10 wks6–10 wksConstructionConstruction: 10–14 wks10–14 wksInspectionsInspections: 2–4 wks2–4 wks
A representative 6-month TI schedule in weeks. Permits and long-lead equipment run in parallel with design — the projects that miss openings are the ones that sequence these in series.

Where commercial projects go sideways

Base-building surprises

What's above the ceiling and behind the demising walls — we verify services capacity before design, not during demolition.

Landlord approvals

Your lease's work-letter has its own approval clock. We build it into the schedule and prepare packages landlords approve quickly.

Long-lead equipment

Kitchen lines, HVAC units and specialty glazing are ordered at design sign-off — not when the walls are ready for them.

Occupancy sequencing

Final inspections, fire testing and health approvals are choreographed backward from opening day.

~6Months, lease to opening, typical
1Accountable team, design–build
52Weeks of rent saved by planning
0Surprise change-order model
Negotiating a lease right now? Bring us the space before you sign — a pre-lease review of services, condition and realistic fit-out cost has saved more than one tenant from a beautiful, unbuildable deal.
Have an opening date to hit?

We'll build the budget and week-by-week schedule for your space — free consultation, honest numbers.

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✱ Representative planning figures for Metro Vancouver, mid-2026 — assembled from municipal permitting schedules, the BC Energy Step Code framework and Armacan project records. Every lot and scope is different: treat these as orientation, not a quote, and confirm against your property in a free consultation.

Continue reading

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