Frame 01OpeningRetail space renovation

Chapter 01 — The two tracks

Retail runs on two approvals.

The building department, and the landlord.

Retail space falls under Mercantile Group M occupancy in the Florida Building Code, and almost every project in the category is second-generation space — a vanilla shell or a previous tenant’s built-out store — rather than ground-up construction. That distinction changes both the code path and the schedule, because existing restrooms, HVAC and storefront glazing may be reusable or may have to come out to bare shell.

Whether it is a strip-centre unit, a boutique in a retail corridor or an anchor space in a mall, the job runs on two tracks that have to close together: the building department’s permit, and the landlord’s own Tenant Design Criteria manual governing storefront depth, signage, flooring transitions at the lease line and allocated HVAC tonnage. Miss either and the store does not open on schedule, regardless of which one was actually finished first.

Retail also carries more public-facing scrutiny per square foot than most commercial categories. A small footprint holding customers, fitting rooms, a checkout counter and a public entrance means accessibility and egress get examined closely relative to the size of the space.

Illustration of an empty retail unit at shell stage: bare floor, exposed structure and services overhead, new stud partitions part-built
Exposed structure and servicesNew stud partitionsStorefront openingBare slab, ready for build-upUtility capacity to verify
Frame 01 · illustrativeThis is an illustrative reference image, not a photograph of Elbaz Construction work. Every image on this page is illustrative, because the client library contains no commercial project photography.
  • Exposed structure and servicesvisible in this frame
  • New stud partitionsvisible in this frame
  • Storefront openingvisible in this frame
  • Bare slab, ready for build-upvisible in this frame
  • Utility capacity to verifyvisible in this frame
Image type
Illustrative reference, not an Elbaz project
Why
No commercial photography exists in the client library
Shown
Retail unit at shell stage
GROUP M

Mercantile occupancy

Retail sits in Group M in the Florida Building Code, which sets the egress, occupant load and accessibility framework the fit-out has to satisfy.

TWO

Approvals, one date

The county permit and the landlord’s design-criteria review are separate processes on separate calendars. Both have to close before you open.

CBC1265280

Licensed general contractor

Licensed, bonded and insured, with one company coordinating both approval tracks.

Frame 02ScopeWhat is included

Chapter 02 — What a retail build-out covers

Landlord shell to trading floor.

Design, permits, systems, fit-out

Scene 01Assessment
Illustration of a glazed retail storefront system installed in a rendered facade with a level entrance threshold and no signage fitted

Second generation or vanilla shell

A second-generation space inherits the previous tenant’s restrooms, HVAC distribution and often the storefront glazing, which can cut real cost and schedule if that infrastructure suits the new use and the code has not moved since. A vanilla shell is bare concrete and stubbed utilities — everything built from scratch.

What you inherit decides the programme more than what you design.

Scene 02Approvals

Landlord criteria and county permit

The Tenant Design Criteria manual dictates storefront depth, sign band placement and letter height, flooring transition at the lease line and allocated HVAC tonnage. None of it is optional even where the permit would allow more latitude. Both submissions run on the same timeline so neither becomes the bottleneck.

The landlord’s manual is not advisory.

Scene 03Capacity
Illustration of commercial services rough-in: conduit, cable tray, ductwork and a distribution board exposed before the ceiling is closed

Verify utilities before design closes

Electrical service size and HVAC tonnage are checked against the tenant’s actual equipment load before design is finalised. On a vanilla shell that is a genuine unknown; on second-generation space the previous tenant’s load may bear no relation to yours.

Capacity is a design input, not a commissioning surprise.

Scene 04Public areas
Illustration of an accessible route through a retail interior with a level threshold, clear aisle width and a lowered counter section

Accessibility, egress and the entrance

Threshold heights, door clearances, vestibule manoeuvring space, aisle widths, a lowered accessible section at the checkout counter, and at least one fitting room meeting clear-floor and door-swing requirements. Egress hardware requirements scale with occupant load.

A small store is scrutinised more per square foot, not less.

Scene 04 is an illustrative diagram. Permitting does not photograph well.

Not sure what your landlord has already provided? Send us the lease exhibit.

Schedule a Consultation Call (754) 236-0675
Frame 03Reference sequenceIllustrative · not project photography

Chapter 03 — Shell to opening

How a build-out progresses.

Illustrative reference sequence

Illustrative reference images

These are illustrative reference images, not photographs of Elbaz Construction projects — the client library holds no commercial photography, and we would rather say so than present a residential room as a store. The sequence they describe is real. Use the arrows, the ticks or the arrow keys.

Illustration of a suspended ceiling grid with air diffusers, sprinkler heads and light housings coordinated into the same plane
01 · Coordinating overhead

01 / 05

01 · Coordinating overhead

The suspended grid carries diffusers, sprinkler heads and light housings in one plane, with duct and containment in the void above. In a small retail footprint the ceiling is where mechanical, electrical, fire protection and lighting all compete for the same space, and it is resolved on paper before anyone lifts a tile.

02 · Fitting out

Display millwork and the service counter installed against finished walls, with lighting channels integrated rather than added. Millwork is usually made off site to the surveyed dimensions of the unit, which fixes the sequence weeks ahead.

03 · Fitting rooms

Even a small boutique needs at least one fitting room meeting clear-floor and door-swing requirements. It is the item most often value-engineered too small and then rebuilt after inspection.

04 · Back of house

Stockroom, receiving and the loss-prevention and point-of-sale cabling. It gets the least design attention and drives real functional decisions — particularly receiving door width for pallets and where security and POS cabling terminates.

05 · Ready to open

The completed shell of a store before merchandising: floor, walls, lighting, counter and glazed shopfront. Everything after this is the tenant’s fit and fixture package, running to the same opening date.

Want to talk through your unit with a licensed contractor? Call us.

Schedule a Consultation Call (754) 236-0675
Frame 04The sequence, readIllustrative, and labelled as such

Chapter 04 — Reading the sequence

What these images describe.

Illustrative, and labelled as such

Why these are illustrations

Elbaz Construction does commercial work, but the photography library these pages are built from contains no commercial or retail projects. The honest options were to show residential rooms and imply they were stores, to buy stock and let it read as our work, or to illustrate the process and say plainly that is what we are doing. This page takes the third.

The ceiling is the hard part

In a small retail unit the ceiling void carries ductwork, sprinklers, lighting, security and data in a shallow zone above a grid that also has to look deliberate. Coordination here separates a build-out that finishes on time from one that does not.

The entrance carries the scrutiny

The public entrance concentrates threshold height, door clearance, manoeuvring space and glazing requirements into one detail. It is the first thing an inspector looks at and the first thing a customer uses.

Millwork sets the programme

Display units and counters are manufactured off site to surveyed dimensions. Once the survey is taken the unit cannot change, which fixes the fit-out sequence weeks before installation.

Back of house is functional, not decorative

Receiving door width, racking layout and where security and point-of-sale cabling terminates decide whether the store works day to day. It is the area most often under-designed.

What is not claimed

No image on this page is a photograph of an Elbaz Construction project. Nothing is presented as a completed job, no client or location is named, and no cost or timeline is attached to any image.

Every build-out starts with the shell survey and the lease terms.

Schedule a Consultation Call (754) 236-0675
Frame 05MaterialsIllustrative · not project photography

Chapter 05 — Systems and elements

What a trading space is built from.

And what each one asks of you later

Illustrative diagrams

System

Storefront glazing and entrance

Glazing at pedestrian-height locations must satisfy safety-glazing requirements as well as the landlord’s appearance criteria. Security grilles, where used, form part of the same approval conversation.

UpkeepTrack and seal maintenance; salt air reaches inland retail corridors too.

System

Electrical service and distribution

Service size verified against the tenant’s actual equipment load, then distribution, lighting circuits, data and point-of-sale power designed around the fixture plan rather than the empty shell.

UpkeepKeep the panel schedule current; retail fit-outs change often.

System

HVAC within the landlord allocation

The design criteria manual typically allocates a fixed tonnage. The design works within that allocation or negotiates it, and either way it is settled before equipment is ordered.

UpkeepService on schedule; a retail unit is unforgiving of poor airflow.

Element

Floor build-up and transitions

Commercial floor finishes take trolley traffic and cleaning regimes, and the transition at the lease line is usually specified by the landlord rather than chosen.

UpkeepCheck transition strips for movement after the first year.

Element

Ceiling, lighting and sign band

Grid, lighting layout and sign band interact. Sign band placement and letter height are commonly dictated by the landlord and cannot be adjusted to suit the interior afterwards.

UpkeepRe-lamp and re-aim track heads when the merchandising layout changes.

Element

Display millwork and counters

Made off site to surveyed dimensions, including the lowered accessible section at the checkout counter, which is a requirement rather than an option.

UpkeepTouch up finishes on high-traffic corners annually.

These panels are illustrative diagrams explaining retail build-out systems in general. Like every image on this page they are not photographs of Elbaz Construction work.

Retail surfaces get used hard. We will tell you which ones survive it.

Schedule a Consultation Call (754) 236-0675
Frame 06Reference detailIllustrative · not our photographs

Chapter 06 — Three details inspectors look at

Closer in.

Illustrative reference images

Illustrative reference images

Retail gets checked closely relative to its size. These three details carry more weight in a small store than almost anything else in the fit-out.

Illustration of a commercial exit door with a horizontal push bar at the end of an unobstructed back-of-house route

01Egress

The route and the hardware

An unobstructed route to an exit fitted with hardware appropriate to the occupant load. Requirements scale with how many people the space holds, so a boutique has more latitude than a higher-volume store — but the route itself has to stay clear, which is a merchandising discipline as much as a construction one.

Illustration of track lighting washing a blank display wall, showing how adjacent beams overlap

02Lighting

Aimed, not just installed

Track heads aimed so beams overlap on the display surface. Retail lighting is specified for the merchandising layout, which means the layout has to exist before the lighting is finalised — and re-aiming is expected whenever it changes.

Illustration of a floor finish transition at a metal strip, where one commercial floor material meets another

03Lease line

Where your floor meets theirs

The transition between tenant floor and common area is commonly specified in the landlord’s design criteria, down to the strip. A small detail sitting on the boundary of two approvals, and worth confirming early.

Send us the shell drawings and we will tell you what the fit-out really needs.

Schedule a Consultation Call (754) 236-0675
Frame 07ProcessNine stages

Chapter 07 — Nine stages, in order

How a build-out actually runs.

Consultation to final sign-off

Consultation

The brand, the fixture plan, the opening date and which lease you are actually signing. Lease terms shape the construction programme more than most tenants expect.

You getA licensed contractor, not a call centre.

CheckOpening date treated as the fixed point it usually is.

Lease space assessment

Second generation or vanilla shell, condition of restrooms, HVAC distribution and storefront, and what can genuinely be reused rather than what merely looks reusable.

You getA written view of what you have inherited.

CheckExisting services verified rather than assumed.

Design and fixture coordination

Layout, circulation, fitting rooms, checkout and back of house, coordinated with the fixture package so construction and fit-out are one plan.

You getA plan that works with your fixtures, not around them.

CheckAccessibility and egress checked at layout stage.

Landlord submission

Submittal to the landlord’s architect against the design criteria manual — storefront, signage, flooring transitions and HVAC allocation.

You getLandlord approval tracked alongside the permit.

CheckSubmitted on the same timeline as the permit application.

Permit application

Submission with the Group M requirements addressed, and responses to review comments handled by us.

You getThe permit file handled for you.

CheckComments answered in writing and tracked to closure.

Demolition and shell work

Strip out what is not being kept, then partitions, substrate work and any structural or opening changes.

You getProtection of common areas and neighbouring tenants.

CheckLandlord rules on hours and access respected.

Services rough-in

Electrical, data, mechanical and fire protection installed and inspected before the ceiling closes.

You getRough-in inspected before anything is covered.

CheckCapacity verified against the actual equipment load.

Finishes and millwork

Ceiling, flooring and wall finishes, then display millwork, counters, fitting rooms and lighting aimed to the merchandising layout.

You getMillwork installed to a surveyed unit, not a drawn one.

CheckAccessible counter section and fitting room verified.

Inspection and handover

Final inspections, landlord sign-off, commissioning and the certificate that lets you open.

You getBoth approvals closed, not just one.

CheckPunch list closed before opening, not after.

We pull the permits and book the inspections, so you can plan an opening date.

Schedule a Consultation Call (754) 236-0675
Frame 08ApprovalsPlanning, permits, inspections

Chapter 08 — Both calendars

Permits and landlord approval.

Running together, deliberately

The most common cause of a delayed retail opening is treating the two approval tracks as sequential. They are not; they are parallel, and they close independently.

Group M occupancy

Retail sits in Mercantile Group M in the Florida Building Code, which sets the framework for egress, occupant load and accessibility that the fit-out satisfies.

Second generation versus shell

What you inherit determines the code path. Reusing existing restrooms and HVAC is possible where they suit the new use and still meet current requirements — a verification exercise, not an assumption.

Tenant Design Criteria

The landlord’s manual governs storefront depth, sign band placement and letter height, flooring transition at the lease line, and allocated HVAC tonnage. It binds you regardless of what the permit would allow.

Parallel submissions

The landlord submittal and the permit application are prepared and lodged on the same timeline, so neither becomes the reason the other is waiting.

Accessible entrance

Threshold height, door clearance and, where a vestibule exists, enough manoeuvring space to pass through both doors. Checked closely on public-facing space.

Egress and occupant load

Hardware requirements scale with occupant load — a higher-volume store may require panic hardware where a boutique does not. Occupant load is calculated, not estimated.

Fitting rooms and counters

At least one fitting room meeting clear floor space and door swing, and a lowered accessible section alongside the primary transaction counter.

Safety glazing

Storefront glazing at pedestrian-height locations must meet safety-glazing requirements as well as the landlord’s appearance criteria.

Utility capacity

Electrical service size and HVAC tonnage verified against the tenant’s real equipment load before design closes — particularly on a vanilla shell.

Inspections and opening

Inspections and landlord sign-off both have to close. Opening depends on the later of the two, which is why they are managed together.

Requirements vary by municipality and by landlord. Nothing here is a determination for your lease or your unit — we review the design criteria manual and confirm the code path before design commits.

Commercial permitting is its own timeline. Let us look at your unit.

Schedule a Consultation Call (754) 236-0675
Frame 09VariablesCost · programme · decisions

Chapter 09 — What moves the number

Cost, programme and the decisions behind both.

Shell condition, systems, and landlord terms

Fewer variables

Light refresh

Second-generation space in good condition: finishes, lighting and millwork refreshed within the existing layout and services.

  • Existing restrooms and HVAC retained
  • Storefront glazing reused
  • Smaller permit scope
  • Landlord review still applies
The usual shape of these jobs

Full build-out

Second-generation space stripped back and re-planned, with services reworked to a new fixture layout.

  • Partitions and layout changed
  • Services reworked and re-inspected
  • Storefront possibly replaced
  • Both approval tracks fully engaged
More moving parts

Vanilla shell

Bare concrete and stubbed utilities — restrooms, HVAC distribution, storefront and every partition built from nothing.

  • Utility capacity verified first
  • Restrooms built to accessibility requirements
  • Full mechanical distribution designed
  • Longest programme of the three

Shell condition

What you inherit — restrooms, HVAC, glazing — is the largest single variable in a retail number.

Utility capacity

Upgrading electrical service or HVAC tonnage to suit the tenant load is a major line where it is needed.

Landlord criteria

Specified storefront systems, sign bands and transition details are not always the cheapest options available.

Accessibility work

Restrooms, entrances, fitting rooms and counters carry requirements that scale poorly in a small footprint.

Millwork package

Made-to-measure display units and counters are usually the largest single fit-out line.

Programme pressure

A fixed opening date compresses sequences and adds cost more reliably than any material choice.

Working hours

Malls and centres commonly restrict noisy work to overnight windows, which changes labour cost.

Fire protection

Sprinkler head relocation to suit a new ceiling and layout is routine, and routinely forgotten in early budgets.

We do not publish a rate for retail build-outs. The number is dominated by what the unit already has — a second-generation space with usable restrooms and HVAC and a vanilla shell with stubbed utilities are different projects entirely, even at identical square footage. The most useful early step is a lease-space assessment that tells you which of those you have signed for, and what the landlord’s design criteria will oblige you to spend regardless of your own preferences.

For a number specific to your unit, we need the shell condition and the scope.

Schedule a Consultation Call (754) 236-0675
Frame 10Sequence of workIllustrative diagram

Chapter 10 — The order of work

How a retail build-out runs.

Shell survey to final sign-off

Illustrative diagram

Stage 01

Lease space assessment

Establish second-generation or shell, condition of existing services, and what genuinely can be reused.

Stage 02

Design and dual submission

Layout and fixture coordination, then landlord and permit submissions prepared and lodged on the same timeline.

Stage 03

Demolition and partitions

Strip out what is not being retained, then build the new partition layout.

Stage 04

Services rough-in

Electrical, data, mechanical and fire protection installed and inspected before the ceiling closes.

Stage 05

Storefront and entrance

Storefront system, entrance doors and threshold installed to landlord criteria and safety glazing requirements.

Stage 06

Ceiling and finishes

Grid, diffusers and lighting installed, then flooring and wall finishes.

Stage 07

Millwork and fixtures

Display millwork, counters and fitting rooms installed, lighting aimed to the merchandising layout.

Stage 08

Inspections and opening

Inspections, landlord sign-off, commissioning and handover to the fit-and-fixture team.

An illustrative diagram of the general order of work on a retail build-out. It is not a photograph of a project, and the sequence varies with the shell condition and the landlord’s requirements.

If you have signed the lease, the clock has already started.

Schedule a Consultation Call (754) 236-0675
Frame 11On siteWhat to expect while it happens

Chapter 11 — Building inside somebody else’s building

On site.

Illustrative reference footage

Frame 11 · on siteAssembled from the illustrative reference images used on this page. It is not footage of an Elbaz Construction project, and it is not stock footage of one either — it is the process, illustrated.

You are a tenantWork happens inside a live centre or building. Hours, noise, access routes and lift use are set by the landlord and they shape the programme.
Overnight workMalls frequently restrict noisy trades to overnight windows. That is a cost and a sequencing decision, not an inconvenience.
DeliveriesReceiving is usually shared and scheduled. Millwork and glazing deliveries are booked rather than turning up.
Two sets of eyesAn inspector and the landlord’s architect are both looking at the work, for different reasons and against different documents.
Decisions we need earlyThe fixture plan. Lighting, power, data and millwork all depend on it, and it is the item most often still moving when construction starts.
Protecting neighboursAdjacent tenants stay trading. Dust, noise and access control are part of the scope rather than goodwill.
Opening dayBoth approvals have to close. Handover is to your fit-and-fixture team, on a date fixed at the start.

Ready to talk about what your unit needs?

Schedule a Consultation Call (754) 236-0675
Frame 12QuestionsFAQ and credentials

Chapter 12 — Questions, and why us

What tenants ask before they fit out.

Grouped so you can find yours

Space and scope

A vanilla shell is bare concrete with stubbed utilities and no interior partitions — everything built from scratch. Second-generation space is a previous tenant’s store, which may come with usable restrooms, HVAC distribution and storefront glazing. What you inherit is the biggest single variable in cost and schedule.

Often, if they suit your use and still meet current requirements. That is a verification exercise rather than an assumption, and it is worth doing before you sign rather than after.

Landlord

The landlord’s own rulebook for your unit — storefront depth, sign band placement and letter height, flooring transition at the lease line and your allocated HVAC tonnage. It binds you even where the permit would allow more latitude.

Neither. They run in parallel and both must close before you open. Treating them as sequential is the most common cause of a delayed opening.

Accessibility and code

Yes — at least one fitting room meeting clear floor space and door swing requirements. Small footprints get more scrutiny per square foot, not less, because the public-facing elements are concentrated.

It depends on occupant load, which is calculated for your space and use. A lower-volume boutique has more flexibility than a high-traffic store. It is established at design stage rather than at inspection.

A lowered accessible section is required alongside the primary transaction counter. It is a millwork decision, so it has to be in the drawing before manufacture.

Programme

It depends far more on shell condition and the two approval tracks than on the construction itself. We give a programme after the lease-space assessment, because a date given before that is guesswork.

Usually, and it is the right way to plan a retail job — work backwards from the opening. What compresses is design and approval time, which is why starting those early matters more than adding labour later.

Working in a centre

In many malls and centres, yes, for the noisy trades. It is a real cost factor and it is priced up front rather than discovered.

This page

Because the photography library these pages are built from contains no commercial or retail projects, and we would rather illustrate the process honestly than show a residential room and let it read as a store. Every image here is labelled accordingly.

Still have questions? Bring us the lease and the drawings.

Schedule a Consultation Call (754) 236-0675
Frame 13ReviewsGoogle

Chapter 13 — What clients said

Reviews, quoted as written.

Rated 4.8 from 343 Google reviews at the time of writing.

Frame R1ReviewGoogle
Great experience! The team was professional, efficient, and delivered high-quality work on time. They communicated clearly throughout the project and exceeded our expectations. Highly recommend for any construction needs!

AndrewGoogle review

Frame R2ReviewGoogle
Elbaz Construction provided excellent service and great customer service. also provide the right team to get the job done. Any project or style that’s needed it. Elbaz Construction is the place to call. Thank you!

Jaee RodriguezGoogle review

Frame R3ReviewGoogle
Elbaz Construction provided excellent service and outstanding craftsmanship. The team was professional and attentive to our needs. We’re extremely satisfied with the results!

Damian NunezGoogle review

Read every review on Google, unedited.

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Service Areas

Proudly serving homeowners across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach

(754) 236-0675

104 municipalities across three counties — and we hold the licence to build in all of them. Not sure about your address? Ask us.

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Preferred contact method

We use your details only to respond to this enquiry. No lists, no resale.

Thanks — that came through.

Your enquiry is with the Elbaz Construction team. A licensed contractor will call you back to ask about the lot, the drawings and your timing. If it is easier to talk now, call (754) 236-0675, Sunday to Friday 7am to 7pm.

Frame 14StartConsultation, not a sales visit

Chapter 14 — Start here

Send us the lease.

A space assessment, not a sales visit

The two documents that answer most retail questions are the lease and the landlord’s Tenant Design Criteria manual. With those and a look at the unit we can tell you what you have actually taken on — ideally before you sign rather than after.

Request an estimate Call (754) 236-0675

What happens after you send it

01
We read what you sendThe unit address, the lease or heads of terms, and the design criteria manual if you have it.
02
We call you backA licensed contractor, to ask about your fixture plan, your equipment load and your opening date.
03
We assess the spaceShell or second generation, condition of restrooms, HVAC and storefront, and what is genuinely reusable.
04
You get it in writingA scope separating shell work, services, finishes and millwork, with both approval tracks mapped.

Useful to have ready

  • The unit address and approximate area
  • The lease or heads of terms
  • The landlord’s Tenant Design Criteria manual if issued
  • Your fixture plan or brand standard
  • Your target opening date