Retail Build-Outs in Seattle
A retail build out in Seattle or on the Eastside, taken from vacant shell to a store ready for stock and staff.
- We read the landlord's tenant criteria before drawings are priced, so storefront and sign rules are known early.
- Building, electrical and sign permits are listed on one schedule tied to your opening day.
- In centers that stay open, loud or dusty tasks can be booked after hours or on weekends.
By appointment. Limited start dates.
- Over 200 projects
- 4.9 on Google
- 20+ years building
- WA license VOLCABI792C6
Trusted to build for
Who calls us about a store build-out
A retail build-out turns an empty or dated unit into a shop customers can walk into and buy from. It usually starts with one of these.
Retailers opening or relocating
The lease is signed and the grand opening is announced. The unit needs a sales floor, fitting rooms, a cash wrap and back of house before inventory arrives.
Franchisees following a brand package
The franchisor supplies a layout, fixture list and finish standard. Someone local has to fit it to the real shell, clear it with city and landlord, and build it.
Center landlords and property managers
An owner may be delivering a vanilla shell, splitting a larger unit or refreshing a row of storefronts, next to tenants who trade every day.
What a retail build-out includes
Retail store construction comes down to six groups of work. We coordinate each one with licensed trades under one project manager.
Sales floor and displays
Partitions, bulkheads, slatwall and wall standards, with aisles laid out so wheelchair users can reach self-service shelving.
Cash wrap and counters
Point of sale counters with power and data, security at the register, and a lowered section of counter at least 36 inches long and no higher than 36 inches.
Fitting rooms and stockroom
Dressing rooms with benches, hooks and mirrors, one accessible room in each group, plus stockroom shelving and a receiving door.
Lighting, power and signs
Track and display lighting, circuits for fixtures and windows, and lit signs, wired by licensed electricians under their own permits.
Storefront, entrance and finishes
Entry doors, display glazing, thresholds, flooring for heavy foot traffic, and wall and ceiling paint in your brand colors.
Landlord criteria and permits
Tenant criteria submittals, building and sign permit applications, inspections and the close-out package the landlord asks for.
Opening a café or food counter instead? See Restaurant & Hospitality in Seattle. For entrance, restroom and route upgrades on their own, see ADA Compliance Upgrades in Seattle, and for every commercial service, Commercial Construction in Seattle.
From empty unit to opening day
The opening date and the merchandise delivery set the schedule, so we plan backward from both.
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Walk the shell and read the criteria
We visit the unit with you, note what the landlord delivers, and read the tenant criteria for storefront, signs, finishes and work hours before pricing.
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Submittals, permits and the fixture calendar
Drawings go to the landlord for approval and to the city for permits. Fixtures, storefront glass and signs are ordered as soon as drawings are approved.
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Build, inspect and hand over for stocking
One project manager runs trades and inspections, keeps shared corridors clean, books noisy work after hours or on weekends where the center requires it, and walks the finished store with you.
Permits and code for retail spaces
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The Seattle rule
A first tenant or new use goes through plan review
SDCI issues some interior permits on field inspection alone, but plan review is required for an initial tenant improvement, a change of use, exterior work such as a new storefront, or work over 4,500 square feet. Any sign over 5 square feet, or with power, needs a sign permit.
What we doWe check the last permitted use of your unit in SDCI records, then list the building and sign permits your store needs before work is scheduled.
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The Bellevue rule
New tenant space and signs are separate permits
Bellevue issues a Tenant Improvement New use permit for the initial build out of a tenant space or a change of use. Every sign put up, altered or moved needs a sign permit, and mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire system work each need their own.
What we doWe name each Bellevue permit on the schedule and file them through MyBuildingPermit alongside the landlord submittal.
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The federal rule
Remodeling display areas triggers the route to them
The ADA path of travel rule names remodeling merchandise display areas as an alteration to a primary function area, so the entrance, route and restrooms serving it must be made accessible, up to 20 percent of the alteration cost, entrance first.
What we doWe show accessibility work as its own line in the price, so retailer and landlord can see what the code adds.
Washington adopts the 2021 International Building Code (WAC 51-50-003), which treats glass in doors, and glass within 24 inches of a door edge less than 60 inches off the floor, as hazardous locations that need safety glazing. The state accessibility provisions cannot be amended by cities (WAC 51-50-005). Every contractor on the job must be registered with L&I under RCW 18.27.020.
What a landlord will ask for before you start
Most centers want these on file before keys are handed over.
State registration
Washington contractor license VOLCABI792C6, registered with L&I. Licensed, bonded and insured.
Only registered trades
Using an unregistered subcontractor is a gross misdemeanor under RCW 18.27.020, so each trade on your store is checked with L&I first.
20+ years in construction
Over 200 projects company-wide, managed from our Bellevue main office.
4.9 on Google
The rating on our company Google profile.
Retail build-out questions
Do I need a permit to build out a retail store in Seattle?
Yes. Almost every store build-out needs an SDCI building permit: plan review applies when you are the first tenant in the space or the use changes, while smaller interior work where the retail use stays the same may qualify for a subject-to-field-inspection permit. Electrical, plumbing and mechanical work carry their own permits.
Does a new storefront sign need its own permit?
Usually, yes. In Seattle a sign permit is required for any sign larger than 5 square feet or connected to power, and the electrical permit is added to it for lit signs. In Bellevue every sign that is erected, altered or relocated needs a sign permit.
How many fitting rooms have to be accessible?
At least 5 percent of the fitting rooms of each type in each group, and never fewer than one. Under the 2010 ADA Standards that room needs wheelchair turning space inside it and a bench, and in an older store where full compliance is technically infeasible the rule drops to one room for each sex on each level.
What are landlord tenant criteria?
They are the center's own rulebook for your build-out. They typically cover storefront design, signs, finishes, work hours, insurance and drawing approval. We read them before pricing so nothing has to be redrawn. See Tenant Improvements in Seattle.
Can the build-out happen while the center stays open?
Yes, in most cases. The unit is closed off with a temporary barricade, deliveries use the service entrance where the center has one, and the loudest or dustiest tasks can be booked after hours or on weekends when the center requires it.
How do I get a price for a retail build-out?
Book a walkthrough of the unit. Send the lease exhibit, tenant criteria and any brand package; we visit, confirm the permits and return a written scope and price. For other commercial work, see Commercial Construction in Seattle.
Book your retail space walkthrough
Tell us about your project, investment range, and timeline. We’ll review the details and reach out to discuss your project and see if we’re the right fit.