Cost11 min read
Commercial Tenant Improvement Cost Per Square Foot in Vancouver (2026)
The most common question a commercial tenant asks is the hardest one to answer in a single number: what does a tenant improvement cost per square foot? The honest answer is that "commercial tenant improvement" is not one thing. The same 2,500 sq ft shell becomes an office for one figure and a dental clinic for three times that figure, and the difference is almost entirely behind the walls. This guide puts every build type we price on one table so you can find yours, then explains what moves the number within each band.
Key takeaway. Commercial tenant improvement in Vancouver runs from $95–$180 per sq ft for a general commercial renovation up to $300–$450 per sq ft for a dental clinic. Office fit-outs sit at $120–$220 per sq ft, medical clinics at $150–$260 per sq ft and pharmacies at $180–$250 per sq ft. What separates them is plumbing, mechanical load and compliance scope — not finishes, and not the postcode.
Tenant Improvement Cost Per Square Foot, by Build Type
Every band below is the rate we publish on the matching service page, applied to a representative size for that use. All figures are construction only and exclude furniture, equipment, IT, signage and professional fees.
| Build type | Cost per sq ft | Representative size | Construction cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| General commercial renovation | $95–$180 per sq ft | 2,500 sq ft | $240,000 – $450,000 |
| Commercial build-out | $120–$220 per sq ft | 2,500 sq ft | $300,000 – $550,000 |
| Office fit-out | $120–$220 per sq ft | 2,500 sq ft | $300,000 – $550,000 |
| Clinic renovation, occupied | $120–$240 per sq ft | 2,000 sq ft | $240,000 – $480,000 |
| Dental office renovation | $120–$260 per sq ft | 2,000 sq ft | $240,000 – $520,000 |
| Medical clinic | $150–$260 per sq ft | 2,500 sq ft | $375,000 – $650,000 |
| Healthcare, broader scope | $150–$320 per sq ft | 2,500 sq ft | $375,000 – $800,000 |
| Pharmacy | $180–$250 per sq ft | 1,500 sq ft | $270,000 – $375,000 |
| Dental clinic | $300–$450 per sq ft | 2,500 sq ft | $750,000 – $1,125,000 |
Retail fit-outs are not a separate line because they price across the commercial renovation and build-out bands depending on how much of the storefront, servicing and millwork is in scope. A simple retail unit sits near the bottom of the commercial renovation band; one with a commercial kitchen or significant refrigeration leaves it entirely.
Why the Same Square Foot Costs So Differently
The spread across that table is not a finish-level story. It is a services story.
An office fit-out works on top of base-building systems that already exist. Partitions, doors, ceilings, lighting, flooring, a kitchenette and meeting-room glazing — the trades are largely dry, and the plumbing is concentrated in one or two locations.
A medical clinic adds a sink in nearly every room, mechanical requirements that answer to infection-control expectations, lead time on millwork, and an inspection path that includes the health authority as well as the city.
A dental clinic is the extreme case, and the reason it sits at more than double the office rate has nothing to do with how it looks. Each operatory needs water, drainage, suction and compressed air run to a fixed chair position, set before framing closes. Imaging may need shielding. Sterilization is effectively a small mechanical room. Around half of a dental buildout's cost is invisible in the finished clinic.
A pharmacy carries a different premium again — dispensary security, controlled storage and, where compounding is in scope, a room with its own ventilation and finish requirements.
If your use falls between two of these, price it from the services it needs rather than from the sector label on the lease.
Where a Tenant Improvement Budget Actually Goes
Across commercial and clinical fit-outs, the distribution looks roughly like this. It is worth knowing before you value-engineer, because the largest lines are the least visible.
| Package | Share of construction budget |
|---|---|
| Mechanical, electrical, plumbing | 30–45% |
| Partitions, doors, ceilings, framing | 15–20% |
| Millwork and casework | 10–18% |
| Finishes — flooring, paint, tile | 8–14% |
| Demolition and base-building remediation | 5–12% |
| Permits, inspections, project management | 6–10% |
The clinical build types push the mechanical share toward the top of that range and the finishes share toward the bottom. That is the whole story of the table above, expressed as percentages.
What the Base Building Gives You, and What It Does Not
The single most common cause of a tenant improvement going over budget is an assumption about the base building that turned out to be wrong. Before you sign, confirm in writing:
- Electrical capacity at the panel, and whether it supports your equipment load.
- HVAC — how much capacity is allocated to your premises, and whether it is enough for your occupancy and equipment heat.
- Plumbing and drainage locations, and how far your fixtures will be from them. Distance to a drain is a real cost.
- Accessibility, including washrooms and the path of travel, and whether your change of use triggers upgrades.
- Exiting and occupancy classification — a change of use can trigger requirements the previous tenant never faced.
- Structure and ceiling height, particularly where equipment needs to be suspended or a room needs to be darkened.
Where the boundary falls between the landlord's work and yours is worth its own read: base building against tenant improvement covers it in detail.
The Landlord's Allowance
A tenant improvement allowance is typically quoted in dollars per square foot of leased area, and it is a contribution rather than a budget. Three things about it consistently surprise tenants:
- It is usually paid on completion, against invoices and lien releases — so you finance the build in the meantime.
- It covers permanent improvements, not your furniture, equipment, signage or IT.
- It is negotiable against other lease terms — free rent, term length and renewal options all trade against it.
Price the buildout first. An allowance negotiated before anyone has priced the work is a number chosen at random. Tenant improvement allowance explained covers what it does and does not cover.
How to Compare Two Quotes That Do Not Match
Two tenant improvement quotes for the same space are rarely pricing the same scope, and the cheaper one is often cheaper because it excludes something. Before you compare totals, line them up on:
- Mechanical — is a new rooftop unit or added capacity included, or noted as an exclusion?
- Base-building remediation — who pays if the demolition finds something?
- Permits and inspections — carried, or billed as a disbursement?
- Millwork — drawn to a shop drawing, or carried as an allowance?
- Contingency — inside the number, or absent from it?
- Deficiency and handover — who closes the list, and when does the warranty start?
An allowance is not a price. A quote built on three large allowances is a quote that has deferred its three biggest decisions.
Cost Guides for Specific Build Types
This page is the overview. Each of these goes deeper on one use:
- Dental clinic construction cost in BC
- Medical clinic construction cost per square foot
- Pharmacy build-out cost in BC
- Office renovation cost in Metro Vancouver
- Optometry and eye clinic construction
For the permit side of a fit-out, see what permits a commercial renovation needs in BC. For the space itself, our commercial renovation service page covers how we scope this work.
Conclusion
There is no single commercial tenant improvement cost per square foot in Vancouver, and any contractor who gives you one without asking what the space is for has told you something useful about their process. Find your use on the table above, add 15–20% contingency, confirm what the base building actually provides, and treat the landlord's allowance as a contribution rather than a budget. Do those four things and the number stops moving. We price tenant improvements across the Lower Mainland and are happy to walk a space with you before you sign for it.
Frequently asked questions
What is the commercial tenant improvement cost per square foot in Vancouver?
It depends entirely on what goes into the space. A general commercial renovation runs $95–$180 per sq ft, an office fit-out $120–$220 per sq ft, a medical clinic $150–$260 per sq ft, a pharmacy $180–$250 per sq ft and a dental clinic $300–$450 per sq ft. The spread is not regional variation — it is the amount of plumbing, mechanical and compliance work each use requires behind the walls.
Why does a dental clinic cost three times what an office fit-out costs?
Because almost none of a dental clinic's cost is visible. Every operatory needs water, drainage, suction and compressed air run to a fixed position, imaging equipment may need shielding, and the sterilization area is a small mechanical room in its own right. An office fit-out is mostly partitions, doors, ceilings, lighting and finishes over base-building services that already exist.
Does the landlord pay for a tenant improvement?
Sometimes partly, through a tenant improvement allowance, and it is rarely the whole cost. Allowances are typically expressed in dollars per square foot of leased area and are paid on completion against invoices, not advanced up front. They also tend to cover permanent improvements rather than your furniture, equipment, signage or IT. Price the buildout before you negotiate the allowance, not after.
What is not included in a tenant improvement cost per square foot?
Furniture, equipment, IT and cabling, signage, professional fees for design and permits, and moving costs all sit outside a construction rate. So does anything the base building lacks — if the space needs added electrical capacity, a new HVAC unit or accessible washroom upgrades to suit your use, that is real scope a per-square-foot rate does not anticipate.
How much contingency should a tenant improvement budget carry?
15–20% is the published standard for clinic and commercial buildouts, and it exists mainly for what is found behind existing walls. In an older base building, carry the top of that range. A tenant improvement in a space that has been fitted out twice before is an investigation as much as a construction project.
Do commercial tenant improvements need a building permit in BC?
Almost always. Any work that changes walls, plumbing, mechanical systems, exiting or occupancy classification requires a building permit from the municipality, plus separate trade permits, and Technical Safety BC permits for gas and certain electrical work. Surrey publishes a three-week target for a Minor Tenant Improvement permit and most Lower Mainland municipalities publish requirements without publishing a review window.
The service this article is about
Renovations planned around how the space needs to function before demolition, trades, and finishes begin.
Commercial Renovation →Related reading
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