Commercial construction in Los Angeles typically costs $150 to $550 per square foot for tenant improvements, with restaurant and healthcare TIs reaching $800 per square foot and ground-up small commercial running $400 to $700 per square foot for the building shell.

The variance comes from occupancy class, MEP complexity, finish tier, and whether the project requires structural reinforcement or change of use. Healthcare and food-service TIs run higher because of the additional regulatory scope. Lux Construction delivers every commercial project on a Guaranteed Maximum Price contract — your total cost is locked before construction begins.

A standard office tenant improvement in Los Angeles takes 3 to 5 months from signed Guaranteed Maximum Price contract to final inspection. Healthcare and hospitality TIs run 5 to 9 months. Ground-up small commercial buildings run 9 to 18 months.

Add 4 to 10 weeks for design and plan check before construction begins. The largest single timeline variable is plan check turnaround at LADBS or your local jurisdiction. We sequence submittals to minimize corrections cycles, because each correction round adds 2 to 4 weeks.

Yes — virtually all commercial construction in Los Angeles requires a building permit from LADBS (City of LA) or the relevant local jurisdiction. Cosmetic work like paint, carpet, and non-structural finish replacement may be permit-exempt, but anything involving demolition, structural change, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, or change of use requires a permit.

Restaurants and healthcare facilities require additional permits beyond the building permit — LA County Public Health for food service, CDPH for medical clinic licensing, LAFD for fire and life safety. Lux Construction handles all permit submissions and inspections under our CSLB license as part of every project.

A tenant improvement (TI) and a build-out are essentially the same thing — both refer to interior commercial construction inside leased space. The terms are used interchangeably in LA commercial construction.

“Tenant improvement” is the more common term in lease documents, landlord communications, and accounting (TI allowance). “Build-out” is more common in conversational use, especially for first-generation construction inside a vanilla shell. Both involve permitting, plan check, MEP work, and finish-out — the regulatory and construction requirements are identical regardless of which term you use.

A TI allowance is a sum the landlord agrees to contribute to the tenant’s interior construction costs as part of the lease — typically expressed as dollars per rentable square foot ($75–$200/sq ft is common in LA office leases).

The allowance is generally drawn down as construction progresses, with the tenant submitting AIA-format invoices and lien releases for landlord approval before payment. Construction costs above the TI allowance are the tenant’s responsibility. We coordinate TI allowance documentation as part of every leased-space project — including draw schedules, lien-free invoicing, and milestone reporting required by the lease.

Yes — most commercial TIs we deliver happen inside operating buildings, often with adjacent tenants continuing normal business. We coordinate dust containment, after-hours work scheduling, dedicated construction access, and security throughout the build.

Healthcare buildings require Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA) protocols when construction is adjacent to occupied clinical space. Restaurants and food service require coordinated work to avoid Public Health violations. We’ve built in occupied buildings continuously for 35 years — the protocols are well-defined when they’re handled by an experienced contractor.

Yes. We build commercial projects across every major LA County jurisdiction including Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Culver City, Pasadena, Glendale, Burbank, Long Beach, Malibu, and Torrance.

Each incorporated city runs its own building department with its own plan check protocols, fees, and inspection culture distinct from LADBS. Beverly Hills runs separately from City of LA, Santa Monica runs its own program, Pasadena and Glendale each have their own. We know the specific requirements and turnaround times of each.