Aerial view of a suburban shopping center with big-box retail and parking lots

CommercialGeneral contractor estimate

Midtown Retail Shell & Tenant Improvements

A single-story retail shell on an infill corner lot with six tenant suites ranging from a 2,400 SF coffee bar to a 9,800 SF fitness studio, each with its own work letter. The general contractor needed the landlord shell priced separately from each tenant improvement so costs could be allocated across leases.

Scope estimated

What we measured and priced

840 CY of concrete in footings, 31,000 SF slab-on-grade and 420 LF of loading dock and site walls
128 tons of structural steel with bar joists and 31,000 SF of metal roof deck
31,000 SF of mechanically fastened TPO roofing with 6 curb-mounted RTU openings
640 LF of aluminum storefront with 18 entrance doors and 2 overhead coiling grilles
Shell demising walls to deck for 6 suites with 11,000 SF of EIFS and brick veneer on the street facades
Restaurant suite with 1,200 SF kitchen, 1,000 CFM Type I hood, grease interceptor and 38 plumbing fixtures
Fitness studio with 6,200 SF of rubber flooring, 2 shower rooms and a dedicated 20-ton RTU
Six TI electrical scopes totaling 1,600 A of tenant service, 720 fixtures and 44 low-voltage drops
0.9 acre of site paving, 48 parking stalls, utilities and streetscape improvements

The estimating challenge

Six work letters drew the line between landlord and tenant work in six different places: one tenant took the suite as a cold dark shell, another expected the landlord to provide a finished ceiling and distributed HVAC. The drawings did not consistently show which items belonged to which party, and the restaurant suite's grease interceptor and Type I hood exhaust route affected shell slab and roof work. The contractor needed a single estimate the developer could use to allocate costs across leases, delivered in four business days.

The result

LEEDS built a work-letter matrix that assigned every line item to landlord shell, landlord TI allowance or tenant cost, then produced a shell estimate and six suite estimates that rolled up to one bid total. We flagged the grease interceptor and hood shaft as shell-phase items so they would be poured and framed before the slab closed. The contractor bid $7.8M and was selected on a negotiated basis. The matrix became the developer's lease allocation document, and no scope disputes surfaced between tenants and landlord during construction.

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Commercial & Industrial

Commercial Estimating

Division-by-division cost estimates for office, retail, hospitality, healthcare and institutional projects, from concept budgets to hard bids.

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Interior & Exterior Finishes

Openings Estimating

Doors, frames, hardware sets, storefront, curtain wall, windows and glazing counted from schedules and elevations, with sealants and installation labor.

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Interior & Exterior Finishes

Drywall Estimating

Board by type and thickness, metal stud framing by gauge, fasteners, tape and mud by finish level, and hang-and-finish labor per square foot.

Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing

MEP Estimating

Fire protection, plumbing, HVAC, controls, electrical and low-voltage quantified as one coordinated package with combined labor and a single bid summary.