- Shell (cold/gray shell) — bare building: structure, envelope, roof, maybe stubbed utilities.
- Vanilla shell / vanilla box — shell + basic interior (walls, basic HVAC, lighting, restrooms).
- Tenant improvement / finish-out (TI) — building out a leased interior for a tenant.
- Ground-up — building new from the dirt.
- Tilt-wall / tilt-up — concrete wall panels cast on-site and tilted into place (common DFW industrial/retail).
- Clear height — interior height to the lowest overhead obstruction (key for warehouses).
- MEP — Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing systems.
- Civil / sitework — grading, drainage/detention, paving, utilities.
- Entitlements — zoning/land-use approvals allowing a project to proceed.
- Change of use — converting a building's occupancy type (often triggers added code).
- AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction) — the city/county that permits and inspects.
- ICRA — Infection Control Risk Assessment (construction in/near active healthcare).
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