Guide
Commercial steel building cost per square foot
Shell and turnkey cost per square foot for commercial steel buildings in DFW and East Texas, by size band, with what moves the number inside each band.
Commercial & industrial
Commercial and industrial steel buildings
Warehouses, retail strip centers, multi-tenant buildings, industrial shops, flex space and agricultural facilities. Engineered, permitted, poured, erected and finished by one contractor.
Is this a fit
We're probably not your builder if
- You need a repair or a service call.
- You're looking at a shed, a carport, or a kit.
- You want the steel dropped and nothing else.
We're a fit if
- You're building 1,500 SF or more of finished commercial or industrial space.
- You want one contractor from slab to final finish.
What we build
Warehouses and distribution
Large-span, high eave, dock doors and drive-in ramps. The bread and butter of steel.
Retail strip centers
Storefront glass, separate utilities, flexible bay sizing. Built to attract quality tenants.
Multi-tenant commercial
Demising walls, individual entrances, separate services, tenant-specific finish-out.
Industrial shops
Heavy floors, tall doors, three-phase power, wash bays and hard-surface aprons.
Flex, office and warehouse
Front office buildout with open warehouse behind it. Built for service businesses.
Agricultural facilities
Hay barns, equipment storage, livestock facilities and processing buildings.
Building types
Shell or turnkey
Shell, dried in
- Engineered slab and foundation
- Red iron frame, roof and wall panels
- Overhead and walk doors, windows
- Erection, permits, basic site grading
- No insulation, no MEP, no interior
Turnkey, move-in ready
- Everything in the shell
- Insulation, HVAC, electrical, plumbing
- Interior framing, drywall, finishes
- Restrooms, lighting, final trim
- Ready for a certificate of occupancy
Shell pricing
| Building size | Per SF |
|---|---|
| 1,500 - 2,999 SF | $52 - $68 |
| 3,000 - 4,999 SF | $46 - $58 |
| 5,000 - 9,999 SF | $38 - $50 |
| 10,000 - 19,999 SF | $32 - $42 |
| 20,000 SF and up | $27 - $36 |
Turnkey pricing
| Building size | Warehouse, light industrial | Retail, office, flex |
|---|---|---|
| 1,500 - 2,999 SF | $98 - $125 | $125 - $165 |
| 3,000 - 4,999 SF | $88 - $112 | $112 - $148 |
| 5,000 - 9,999 SF | $78 - $100 | $100 - $132 |
| 10,000 - 19,999 SF | $68 - $88 | $88 - $118 |
| 20,000 SF and up | $60 - $78 | $78 - $102 |
Worked example, 10,000 SF warehouse
Shell at $32 - $42 per SF is $320K to $420K. Turnkey at $68 - $88 per SF is $680K to $880K. Where you land inside that depends on eave height, door count, insulation spec, site conditions and county.
What moves your number
Clear span. Eave height. Number and size of overhead doors. Storefront glass. Insulation package. Slab thickness and loading. Wind exposure. Soil. Site grading and drainage. Fire suppression if occupancy requires it.
Not included
Not included in any number we quote. On rural East Texas land these routinely add $30,000 to $100,000 or more before we pour anything.
- Land
- Well or water tap
- Septic system or sewer tap
- Utility extension to the site
- Driveway and culvert
- Land clearing beyond one acre
- Rock excavation
- Retaining walls
- Detention and drainage improvements
- Impact and development fees
- Furniture, fixtures and equipment
Questions
- What does a commercial steel building cost per square foot in Texas?
- Shell pricing runs $27 - $68 per square foot depending on size. Turnkey runs $60 - $165 per square foot depending on size and use type. Bigger buildings cost less per foot because the fixed costs spread further.
- What is the difference between a shell and a turnkey building?
- A shell is the slab, the frame, the roof and wall panels, the doors and the windows. It is dried in and usable but empty. Turnkey adds insulation, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, interior framing, drywall, finishes and restrooms. It is move-in ready.
- How long does a commercial metal building take to build?
- Steel erection runs two to four weeks once the frame is on site. The full schedule is driven by engineering, permitting and lead time on the building package, then by the interior finish. Plan six to ten months from signed contract to occupancy on a typical commercial job.
- What is the smallest commercial building you will build?
- We start at 1,500 SF of finished commercial space. Below that a kit supplier will beat us on price and you should let them.
- Do you handle permits and engineering?
- Yes. Sealed structural drawings, foundation design, permit submittal and inspections are part of the scope. Requirements change by city and county across our service area, so we handle each one to that jurisdiction.
- Is the foundation included in your price?
- Yes. Our shell and turnkey numbers both include the engineered slab and foundation. A lot of published metal building pricing excludes it, which is why those numbers look so much lower than ours.
- What clear span can you build?
- Rigid frame clear spans run to about 150 feet with no interior columns, which covers warehouses, retail centers and equipment buildings. Past that you are into specialized framing and the cost per foot climbs.
- Do you build agricultural buildings?
- Yes. Hay barns, equipment storage, livestock facilities and processing buildings are a regular part of what we do. Open, semi-enclosed or fully enclosed, built for how a working operation actually uses a building.
- Can you build a multi-tenant retail or flex building?
- Yes. Demising walls, separate utility services, individual entrances and tenant-specific finish-out are all normal scope. i30 Builders does commercial tenant improvement work as its core business, so the finish-out side is not a stretch for us.
Read before you buy
Guide
Metal building permits in Texas
Who issues the permit, what a Texas jurisdiction actually wants to see, what changes outside city limits, and what the whole process costs in time.
Guide
Shell versus turnkey
What a dried-in shell includes, what turnkey adds, what the gap costs, and how to tell which one is right for your project before you sign anything.
Guide
Clear span, explained
What clear span means in a steel building, how far it can go, what it costs, and when a column line is the smarter answer than a wider frame.