If you search this question you’ll get numbers between $200 and $900 a square foot, which is another way of saying nobody wanted to answer you.
So let me answer you. These are the ranges we actually see on projects in South Louisiana, and I’m going to break them down two ways: by what kind of building it is, and by who’s building it. That second one moves the number more than most owners expect.
Simple office buildings, and why the builder changes the price
Start with the most common thing people ask about, a small, basic, stick frame office building. Same building, three different ways to get it built:
| Who builds it | Cost per square foot |
|---|
| Self-contracted | $150 to $175 |
| Residential contractor with residential subs | $175 to $225 |
| Commercial contractor with true commercial subs | $200 to $250 |
That’s a $100 a square foot spread on the same building, and it isn’t anybody gouging you.
When you self-contract, you’re absorbing the coordination yourself, along with the risk that comes with it. When a residential contractor takes on a small office building using the subs he normally uses on houses, you’ll usually pay less than a full commercial team, but those subs may not be used to commercial detailing, commercial inspections, or the paperwork that comes with them. When you hire a commercial contractor running genuine commercial subcontractors, you pay the most, and you’re paying for people who do this every day.
None of those three is automatically wrong. They’re different trades of money against risk, and which one fits depends on how complicated your building is and how much of the coordination you want to own.
Specialty buildings
Morgan Family Dentistry Lafayette A dental office runs $225 to $250 a square foot once the water vacuum and air are in the wallsOnce you leave the simple office box, the systems inside take over the budget:
| Building type | Cost per square foot |
|---|
| Simple office | $150 to $250, depending on who builds it |
| Dental office, including water, vacuum and air | $225 to $250 |
| Church | $300 to $350 |
| Animal shelter, with all equipment included | around $450 |
The pattern is consistent. A dental office costs more than an office because of everything running behind the walls, the water, the vacuum and the air to every operatory. A church costs more because of the volume, the structure that has to span it, and the acoustics and finishes people actually notice on a Sunday morning. An animal shelter is the most expensive per square foot of anything on this list, because the equipment, the drainage, the ventilation and the durability requirements are relentless.
All of these are rough. Level of finish, building type and size are all pulling on the final number, and two buildings of the same size and use can land in different places depending on what you put in them.
What actually moves your number
Lafayette Animal Shelter and Care Center Around $450 a square foot with all the equipment the most expensive category on the listThe systems, more than the walls. Four walls and a roof are cheap. Medical gas, commercial kitchens, specialized ventilation and heavy equipment loads are not.
The level of finish. This is the lever owners have the most control over, and the one they tend to think about last.
Your site. Flood elevation, soil and foundation conditions, and wind exposure are not optional down here, and they get priced into the job whether or not you planned for them.
New construction versus renovation. Existing buildings keep their secrets until you open the walls.
Notice what isn’t on that list: the architect’s fee. Design is where cost gets controlled, not where it gets added. A well documented project bids tighter, because contractors price what they can see and pad what they can’t.
We give you a cost estimate at every phase
Here’s something we do that isn’t standard, and it’s the part of our service I’d point at if the budget is what’s keeping you up.
Alongside our normal work, we produce a cost estimate with each set of deliverables, at the end of every design phase. Not one number at the start and a shrug afterward. An updated estimate as the design gets more specific, so you can watch where the money is going while there’s still time to move it.
Those estimates have historically proven quite accurate out of our office. That matters, because the worst version of this process is finding out at bid that you’re a half million over and having to value engineer the building backward under time pressure. If you’ve been watching the number the whole way, that conversation happens early, on paper, when changing your mind is still free.
Use these as a starting point, not a quote
Per square foot numbers are a planning tool. They tell you whether your idea is in the neighborhood of your budget, which is genuinely useful at the very beginning and genuinely misleading if you stop there. Your real number depends on your building, your systems, your finishes and your site.
If you’ve got a building in mind and a budget in mind and you want to know whether they belong in the same sentence, send me what you’re thinking, or call or text me at 337.454.5457. I’ll tell you honestly whether the numbers line up, in plain language, before you’ve committed to anything.
That conversation costs you nothing, and it’s a whole lot cheaper than finding out at bid.
Adam Beazley, AIA, LEED AP is the founder and principal architect of A Beazley Architecture, an award-winning firm based in Broussard, Louisiana. With over 22 years of professional experience in commercial, institutional, and religious architecture, Adam specializes in contemporary, resilient design across the Gulf Coast. Licensed in Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida with an NCARB certificate. Adam leads a kingdom-minded firm committed to designing buildings that serve clients missions, strengthen communities, and stand the test of time.