Office build-outs in Fort Worth

By Lonnie Harrison, President · November 13, 2026

Who does office build-outs in Fort Worth?

Look for a commercial general contractor that does tenant finish-outs as its everyday work, prices the space before you sign the lease, and reports to you as the job proceeds. An office build-out has fewer heavy systems than a restaurant or a clinic, so most of the risk is in the details: the suite’s HVAC and electrical service, the ceiling, accessibility, the building’s rules and a move-in date that cannot slip.

Harrison Construction was founded in Fort Worth in 2011 to do interior finish-out work for restaurant, retail, office and medical tenants and their landlords, and finish-outs are still most of what we build. Office-type work on our records includes the 8,000 sq ft Gatik AI control center finish-out in Denison, a renovation of the Nick Ritter Medical Office Building in Hurst, and a 10,000 sq ft renovation of First State Bank in Denton (2018).

What an office build-out includes

Every office is different, but the scope almost always covers the same parts. We price each one line by line, so you can compare bids and see what the landlord’s allowance pays for:

• Walls and doorsdemising walls between suites, private offices, conference rooms, doors, frames and hardware, and glass fronts where the design calls for them.
• Ceilings and lightingthe ceiling grid, lighting and controls, and the sprinkler heads relocated to suit the new rooms.
• Heating and coolingductwork and zoning so closed offices and conference rooms are not too hot or too cold, checked against the size and age of the existing units.
• Power and dataoutlets, circuits and a panel that can carry them, plus pathways for the data and phone cabling your IT vendor installs.
• Restrooms and break roomaccessible restrooms where the suite needs its own, and a break room with a sink and appliances.
• Finishesflooring, paint, wall finishes, millwork and the entry.

Furniture, data cabling and security systems are usually bought by the tenant from their own vendors. We coordinate their timing with the construction schedule, because they need the walls, ceilings and power in place on a set date.

Shell space, second-generation office space or an occupied office

The space you lease sets the starting point, and it is where most office budgets move. Here is how the three cases compare:

Three kinds of office space and what each one means for the build-out

How to read this table: a second-generation suite looks cheaper and often is, but only after the existing walls, ceiling and systems have been checked against your layout. We tell you which of the three you really have after the site visit, before you rely on a number.

In a second-generation suite, reusing what works is where the savings are: walls that already sit where you need them, a ceiling grid in good condition, restrooms that already meet accessibility rules, and HVAC units with life left in them. We mark each one keep, change or replace on the walk-through, so the estimate shows what the reuse is worth to you.

Permits for an office finish-out in Fort Worth

Most office build-outs in Fort Worth need a commercial building permit. The city’s commercial permit table asks for a complete set of plans and a Remodel/Change of Use Questionnaire for a remodel or a change of use, and the same city page lists cosmetic work, such as floor or wall covering, cabinets and shelving, that needs no permit.

Accessibility is part of the review. Texas requires an accessibility review by a registered accessibility specialist for larger commercial projects through the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, and the routes, doors and restrooms of an office are designed to it. Your architect prepares the drawings; we take the permit through with them and schedule the inspections.

Check the permits before you set the move-in date

The permit is often the item that decides when you can move in, so it goes on the development schedule in the first week of pre-construction, not after the drawings are finished. Fort Worth’s Commercial Permit Guide scopes a commercial project and shows the permits it needs and their estimated cost before anything is submitted.

Our pre-construction covers the steps before construction: due diligence on the suite, a conceptual estimate, value engineering, a constructability review, the development schedule, bidding, subcontractor qualification and permitting.

Building inside an occupied building

Most offices are built in buildings where other tenants are working, or in your own space while your staff keep working. The building has rules for working hours, deliveries, elevators, parking and shared systems, and we collect them at the start so they are in the price and the schedule.

Noisy and dusty work is planned outside business hours where the scope allows, work areas are separated from occupied ones, and anything that affects a shared system, such as the fire alarm or the sprinklers, is scheduled with the building. Our records include repairs and a restroom remodel for Key School in Fort Worth, under three contracts from 2022 to 2024.

How to compare office build-out bids

Office bids are easy to compare badly. Two totals can differ because one includes the ceiling, the HVAC zoning and the accessible restrooms and the other assumes the landlord delivers them. Before you compare, line the bids up on the same points:

• The same drawingspriced from the same set, with the same finish schedule.
• The landlord’s work and the allowancewhat the landlord delivers, what the allowance covers, and what each bid assumes about both.
• Exclusionsfurniture, data cabling, security, signage and permit fees are the usual items one bid leaves out.
• Existing conditionshow each bid treats the existing ceiling, HVAC and electrical in a second-generation suite.
• Schedule and reportingthe move-in date each bid works to, and how you will know where the job stands.

We price your drawings line by line with the exclusions called out, so the comparison is fair, and we walk the suite before pricing so existing conditions are in the number.

Office finish-outs for landlords and building owners

Landlords finish out suites for new tenants, refresh vacant suites so they lease faster, and build demising walls to split a large space into smaller ones. The work is the same as a tenant’s build-out, but the timing is set by the lease: the tenant’s move-in date, the landlord’s delivery obligations and the allowance in the work letter.

For a building owner with several suites, we keep the same team, the same reporting and the same close-out package on every one, so the owner sees each suite’s budget and schedule separately. See tenant finish-outs for landlords and tenants.

Who runs your office build-out

Lonnie Harrison, President, founded the company in 2011 and has more than 25 years in construction. Alex Lioumis, VP of Operations, oversees project execution, field personnel and subcontractors, and Anne Hickey coordinates the schedule, the subcontractors and the documents. You get regular progress meetings and electronic project reports, and at the end the punch list, the final inspections, the certificate of occupancy and the close-out documents.

For a building owner with several suites to finish, the same team, reporting and close-out package apply to every tenant. See tenant finish-outs and commercial renovations, or call (817) 988-0242.

Related: Tenant finish-out contractor in Fort Worth and DFW · General contractor in Fort Worth, TX · Specialty commercial construction · Commercial general contractor in Fort Worth.