Cost Guides · North Texas · 2026

What commercial construction actually costs in DFW

Honest, directional cost guides for every commercial project type Pereff builds — dental, medical, veterinary, restaurant, office, multifamily, warehouse, ground-up, and the structure and delivery-method choices that move the number. Every figure is a range, dated May 2026, and subject to preconstruction review. No single magic number, because there isn’t one.

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DFW Benchmarks

Commercial Construction Cost Per Square Foot in DFW (2026)$85–$160/SFDirectional, May 2026: DFW commercial construction generally runs ~$175–$650/SF by building type, with most projects landing $190–$340/SF. Warehouse is lowest (~$85–$160/SF); medical and hospitality are highest. The building type drives the number.Read the guide

Healthcare

Dental Office Construction Cost in Texas (2026)$190–$300/SFDirectional, May 2026: a 3–4 operatory dental tenant finish in Texas commonly runs ~$190–$300/SF, and a 4,500 SF mid-complexity practice lands roughly $0.85M–$1.35M all-in for construction — equipment and FF&E separate.Read the guide Medical Office Buildout Cost in DFW (2026)$175–$450/SFDirectional, May 2026: a mid-complexity medical office TI in DFW runs ~$175–$450/SF, and a 5,000 SF primary-care practice lands roughly $1.0M–$1.4M all-in — more with imaging or procedure rooms. Equipment and FF&E are separate.Read the guide Veterinary Clinic Construction Cost (2026)$175–$275/SFDirectional, May 2026: a veterinary clinic build-out commonly runs ~$175–$400/SF depending on surgical suite, imaging, and kennel/treatment scope. Veterinary equipment and FF&E are budgeted separately.Read the guide Medical Office vs. Dental Office: Cost Compared (2026)$190–$300/SFDirectional, May 2026: dental TI commonly runs ~$190–$300/SF and medical TI ~$175–$450/SF. Both are specialty-MEP healthcare builds, but dental cost is driven by operatory plumbing and imaging, while medical cost is driven by the clinical program — exam vs. procedure vs. imaging.Read the guide

Retail & Restaurant

Restaurant Buildout Cost in DFW (2026)$100–$200/SFDirectional, May 2026: a full-service restaurant in DFW runs ~$250–$500+/SF and a QSR with FF&E ~$400–$600/SF. Kitchen MEP — hood/exhaust, grease interception, gas, make-up air — is the dominant cost, and equipment is budgeted separately.Read the guide

Office

Office Tenant Finish Cost Per Square Foot (2026)$50–$100/SFDirectional, May 2026: an office tenant finish runs ~$50–$150/SF ($80–$150/SF for Class A); a 12,000 SF Class-A buildout lands roughly $1.0M–$1.8M. The landlord's TI allowance offsets part of it — the tenant pays the gap.Read the guide

Multifamily

Multifamily Construction Cost Per Unit in Texas (2026)$270–$380/SFDirectional, May 2026: garden and mid-rise multifamily in Texas runs ~$270–$380/SF (workforce product can run ~$150–$250/SF). A ~100-unit community lands roughly $27M–$38M before land and financing.Read the guide

Industrial

Warehouse Construction Cost in DFW (2026)$85–$160/SFDirectional, May 2026: tilt-wall warehouse and flex industrial in DFW runs ~$85–$160/SF — the lowest-cost commercial type. DFW leads the nation in industrial starts; cold storage and heavy process loads push higher.Read the guide

Ground-Up

Ground-Up Commercial Construction Cost in Texas (2026)$175–$400/SFDirectional, May 2026: ground-up small commercial in Texas commonly runs ~$175–$400/SF depending on use, structure, and finish — plus site work and a longer 8–14 month timeline. Entitlements are often the long pole, not the building permit.Read the guide

Structure & Methods

Tilt-Up Construction Cost (2026)$85–$160/SFDirectional, May 2026: tilt-up (tilt-wall) is the most cost- and schedule-efficient structure for warehouse and big-box commercial in DFW, with tilt-wall industrial running ~$85–$160/SF. Where concrete crews are abundant — as in DFW — tilt-up wins on both price and speed.Read the guide

Delivery Methods

Design-Build vs. Design-Bid-Build: Cost Compared (2026)Lower under design-buildDesign-build typically lowers total project cost versus design-bid-build — not through a cheaper unit price, but through fewer change orders, an overlapped (faster) schedule, single-team accountability, and value engineering that starts during design rather than after.Read the guide

How to read these numbers

Every figure on this site is a directional planning range, researched May 2026, and subject to final preconstruction review — never a quote. Commercial construction cost depends on building type, finish level, site conditions, structure choice, and timing, so a single number without scope behind it is a guess. The per-square-foot figures are construction hard costs; soft costs (design, permits, financing carry) add roughly 15–30% on top, FF&E is budgeted separately, and a 5–15% contingency is prudent.

The fastest way past a range is a real preconstruction budget for your specific project. Pereff is not a lender, but facilitates bank relationships for qualifying projects based on the owner’s financials and project viability — and gets you to a defensible number early, when it matters most for the deal.

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