This article is about the cost of the whole build-out. If you are looking for the cost of the permit itself — city fees, drawings and consultants — that is covered separately in what a tenant improvement permit costs in Metro Vancouver.
Commercial tenant improvement costs in Metro Vancouver depend on what your business needs and what the unit already provides. A usable office that needs new finishes is a different project from an empty shell requiring washrooms, ventilation, electrical distribution, and a complete interior.
The most useful starting point is a budget tied to a specific space and scope. A price per square foot can help you compare possibilities, but it cannot show whether a particular unit is affordable to open.
A Vancouver office fit-out cost benchmark
Cushman & Wakefield's 2026 Canada Office Fit Out Cost Guide reports a Vancouver office construction benchmark of CAD $199.12 per square foot. Its published construction figures exclude other project categories such as professional fees, furniture, and technology. This is a benchmark for the guide's defined office project, rather than a quotation for every commercial renovation. Source: Cushman & Wakefield
Applied arithmetically to 2,000 square feet, that benchmark produces approximately $398,240 in construction costs. Your actual project could differ substantially because of the building, intended use, specifications, and scope. It should not be used to price a restaurant, medical clinic, or small cosmetic refresh without further analysis.
Before comparing any published rate, ask what it includes: demolition, contractor fees, contingency, taxes, equipment, and design can be treated differently.
What changes the cost of a tenant improvement?
Existing building services
An attractive unit may still need expensive work behind the walls. Ask your project team to investigate electrical capacity, heating and cooling, plumbing connections, and the condition of existing systems.
For example, adding several rooms to an open office affects more than partitions. Each room may need coordinated lighting, power, ventilation, controls, and fire protection adjustments. The cost of the walls alone will not describe the project.
Your business operations
A consulting office, a café, and a medical clinic use space differently. Equipment requirements, privacy, cleaning, storage, and customer circulation should shape the budget before finishes are selected.
Prepare an equipment list early. Knowing the proposed appliance or treatment equipment is more useful to an estimator than a note saying “equipment by owner.” The installation and service connections still need someone responsible for them.
Layout and finish choices
Keeping suitable washrooms, services, and partitions can reduce the amount of new work. However, retaining a feature only saves money if it supports the final design and is in acceptable condition.
Custom reception desks, extensive glazing, specialty lighting, and detailed millwork should be priced as explicit decisions. This makes it easier to adjust the design without losing the function your business needs.
Building access and construction conditions
Ask about working hours, deliveries, elevator bookings, noise restrictions, and shutdown procedures. A project with unrestricted access is different from one requiring short evening work periods and carefully scheduled deliveries.
Build a complete project budget
Organize your budget into clear categories:
- Investigation and design: measured drawings, feasibility review, consultant services, and design development.
- Approvals: municipal fees and other project-specific application costs.
- Construction: demolition, building work, services, finishes, and contractor charges.
- Business setup: furniture, equipment, signage, IT, security, and moving.
- Contingency: an allowance for unresolved conditions and scope uncertainty.
- Pre-opening expenses: rent, insurance, storage, and other costs incurred before trading.
Show taxes separately and have your accountant confirm their cash-flow treatment. Also identify which costs the landlord pays directly and which costs you must initially fund yourself.
How to get an estimate you can use
Send your design team the unit address, approximate area, available drawings, intended use, equipment list, and target opening date. Include the landlord's construction requirements and any written description of the condition in which the unit will be delivered.
Request a preliminary estimate with assumptions and exclusions. As drawings and specifications develop, update the estimate before committing to construction. Record which amounts are firm quotations and which remain allowances.
Common budgeting questions
Can I set a budget before signing a lease?
Yes. An early feasibility review and preliminary scope can help you establish a planning budget. Its accuracy depends on access to the unit, building information, and how clearly you have defined the business requirements.
Does a landlord allowance cover the whole renovation?
Compare the allowance with the complete project budget and its eligible expenses. Even a substantial contribution can leave costs or timing gaps that your business must fund.
Start with the space you are considering
Send 3D Arc Design your unit address, approximate area, and intended use. Book a free 30-minute consultation to discuss the information needed for a practical tenant improvement budget.
Read how our commercial tenant improvement service works, or see what applies in Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey.