Commercial Tenant Improvement Costs in 2026: What Retail Brands Actually Pay

Per-square-foot TI budgets for retail and restaurant build-outs in California, plus the schedule traps that blow opening dates.

Tenant improvement pricing is the question every retail director asks first and trusts least. After building for national brands across California, here are the 2026 ranges that hold up in the field.

Vanilla-Shell Retail: $80 to $150 Per Square Foot

A standard retail build-out — partitions, restrooms, lighting, finishes, storefront tie-ins — runs $80 to $150 per square foot in most California markets, with San Francisco and the Peninsula at the top.

Food Service and QSR: $200 to $400+ Per Square Foot

Grease interceptors, hoods, health-department plan checks, and MEP loads make restaurant TIs a different animal. Brands like Starbucks-standard builds live in this band, and the schedule is driven by long-lead equipment and health permits.

The Schedule Traps

Budgets blow up on calendar, not just cost: landlord work letters, utility upgrades, ADA path-of-travel upgrades triggered at permit, and inspection backlogs. A contractor with in-house MEP and framing crews absorbs these shocks instead of billing them.

JMG delivers tenant improvements and retail maintenance from San Francisco to San Diego under one license — #1007864. Send your plans for a line-item TI estimate.