VAULT · Buildout Budget
Doc date: 2026-07-28. Basis: 18,000 SF envelope, Charlotte cost basis Q2 2026, adaptive-reuse or new construction shell delivery, dual-mode studio plus premium wet-zone recovery plus commercial café.
Total budget frame (base case)
- Hard cost (construction): $4.8M.
- Soft cost (A and E, permits, PM, legal, insurance): $650K.
- FF&E: $850K.
- Technology and AV: $600K.
- Contingency: 15 percent of hard cost, held mixed owner and GC.
- Total capitalized buildout: $6.9M plus contingency.
Ranges: Bear $4.5M to $5.5M all-in on a lean adaptive-reuse shell with generous landlord TI. Base $6.5M to $7.5M all-in. Bull $8.5M to $10M all-in if new construction shell requires full vertical fit-out plus premium finish escalation.
Line-item hard cost (base case, 18,000 SF)
| Line | $ per SF | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Demolition and site prep | 8 | 144,000 |
| Structural (rigging grid, deck reinforcement, misc steel) | 22 | 396,000 |
| Framing and interior partitions | 18 | 324,000 |
| Roof and envelope repair or upgrade | 6 | 108,000 |
| Mechanical (HVAC full system incl DOAS, VRF, radiant, dehumid) | 42 | 756,000 |
| Electrical (service upgrade, panels, lighting rough) | 28 | 504,000 |
| Plumbing (rough, fixtures, wet zone, café, water treatment) | 22 | 396,000 |
| Fire protection (sprinkler, alarm, smoke control) | 6 | 108,000 |
| Acoustic assemblies (walls, ceiling, floor decoupling, curtain) | 24 | 432,000 |
| Insulation (thermal plus acoustic mineral wool) | 4 | 72,000 |
| Drywall, tape, primer | 12 | 216,000 |
| Doors, frames, hardware (commercial grade, brass) | 8 | 144,000 |
| Millwork (reception, café, retail, locker) | 22 | 396,000 |
| Finishes: travertine (floor plus wall accent) | 18 | 324,000 |
| Finishes: Roman clay walls plus wood accent | 8 | 144,000 |
| Finishes: engineered walnut plank flooring | 10 | 180,000 |
| Finishes: rubber gym flooring | 3 | 54,000 |
| Painting and Roman clay labor | 6 | 108,000 |
| Locker rooms (steam, dry room, vanity, hardware) | 10 | 180,000 |
| Recovery wing (sauna, cold plunge, IR, chillers) equipment plus install | 14 | 252,000 |
| Café kitchen (hood, appliances, prep, POS millwork) | 9 | 162,000 |
| Broadcast infrastructure (truss, motors, isolated power, star ground) | 8 | 144,000 |
| Specialties (signage rough, brass hardware trim, mirrors) | 3 | 54,000 |
| GC general conditions | 18 | 324,000 |
| GC fee (5 percent of hard, weighted) | 14 | 252,000 |
| Subtotal hard cost | 293 | 5,274,000 |
Round hard cost baseline: $4.8M to $5.3M depending on shell condition. Use $4.8M for base case with modest shell scope; $5.3M if roof or envelope or MEP capacity requires deeper intervention.
Soft cost
| Line | $ |
|---|---|
| Architect (7 percent of hard) | 336,000 |
| MEP engineer | 100,000 |
| Structural engineer | 55,000 |
| Acoustic consultant (WSDG or Acentech) | 110,000 |
| Interior design partner (if separate scope) | 90,000 |
| Permit fees, plan review, impact fees (Charlotte) | 60,000 |
| Owner project manager (18 mo engagement) | 145,000 |
| Legal (leasing, construction, vendor) | 45,000 |
| Insurance (builder’s risk, general liability) | 60,000 |
| Environmental (Phase I ESA, if buying) | 8,000 |
| ALTA survey (if buying) | 12,000 |
| Testing and inspection (structural, air balance, acoustic tuning) | 55,000 |
| Subtotal soft | 1,076,000 |
Note: architect and consultant fees can be trimmed by 20 to 30 percent if bundled inside AoR contract. Base assumes separated scopes for design leverage.
FF&E
| Category | $ |
|---|---|
| Reception plus lounge furniture | 90,000 |
| Retail merchandising fixtures | 45,000 |
| Café furniture (communal table, chairs, banquette) | 75,000 |
| Locker room seating and dry-room furnishings | 40,000 |
| Studio equipment: poles (24 x $1,500) plus aerial rigs plus mats | 65,000 |
| Gym equipment: platforms, racks, dumbbell plus rack sets, sled, cardio | 220,000 |
| Recovery equipment: compression, Normatec plus Hyperice, contrast tubs, IR panels | 130,000 |
| Locker hardware and cabinetry (walnut plus brass) | 90,000 |
| Art and objects (curated by design partner, no green) | 45,000 |
| Textiles: rugs, drapery, upholstery, linens | 50,000 |
| Subtotal FF&E | 850,000 |
Technology and AV
| Category | $ |
|---|---|
| Broadcast control room (switcher, encoders, monitors, comms) | 175,000 |
| Studio camera package (4 plus PTZ, lenses, wireless) | 110,000 |
| Broadcast audio (Dante network, Axient wireless, Wisycom IEM, reference monitors) | 85,000 |
| Theatrical lighting (motorized truss plus DMX plus fixtures) | 80,000 |
| Distributed audio (Sonos Pro plus QSC ceiling zones) | 40,000 |
| Access control plus surveillance (Verkada full site) | 55,000 |
| Network infrastructure (fiber backbone, Wi-Fi 6E, switching) | 45,000 |
| Member management plus POS integration | 25,000 |
| Building automation and controls (Tridium Niagara or Distech) | 45,000 |
| UPS plus generator commissioning | 30,000 |
| Fiber uplink install and redundant carrier setup | 15,000 |
| Subtotal tech and AV | 705,000 |
Lean scenario: cut broadcast package to phase 1 minimum and drop to $450K. Bull scenario: expand broadcast for immediate touring-livestream-ready spec and grow to $850K.
Signage
| Item | $ |
|---|---|
| Exterior signage (brass, back-lit alabaster if permitted) | 45,000 |
| Interior wayfinding (debossed brass plates, no vinyl) | 35,000 |
| Retail plus café branded signage | 15,000 |
| Subtotal signage | 95,000 |
Permits and fees (Charlotte)
- Building permit: approx 1.2 percent of construction cost.
- Trade permits (MEP, sprinkler, alarm): approx 0.5 percent.
- Impact fees (Mecklenburg County, if applicable): $10K to $30K.
- Zoning conditional approvals plus site plan (if required): $8K to $20K.
- Plan review fees: $10K to $20K.
Total permits and fees: $60K to $100K. Base $80K.
Contingency
- Owner contingency: 10 percent of hard cost, $500K.
- GC contingency: 5 percent of hard cost, $250K.
- Design contingency (soft): 5 percent, $55K.
- Total contingency: $805K on base case.
Contingency governance: owner contingency released only on written change-order approval; GC contingency reconciled at project close and returned pro rata against GMP savings.
Bear / Base / Bull total (all-in)
| Scenario | Hard | Soft | FF&E | Tech | Contingency | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bear | 4.3M | 850K | 700K | 450K | 645K | 6.95M |
| Base | 4.8M | 1.08M | 850K | 705K | 805K | 8.24M |
| Bull | 5.8M | 1.25M | 1.05M | 850K | 1.05M | 10.0M |
Base case (recommended planning number): $8.2M all-in capitalized buildout, before landlord TI credit.
Landlord TI credit (offset)
- Target TI: $60 psf on 18,000 SF = $1.08M credit against buildout.
- Aggressive TI ask: $75 to $85 psf = $1.35M to $1.53M.
- Realistic TI on Camden or South Blvd on a 10 yr term with a startup credit: $50 to $65 psf.
Net capitalized buildout after TI credit (base case with $60 psf TI): $8.2M less $1.08M = $7.12M.
Real estate (separate from buildout)
- Lease case: Q2 2026 South End Class A adaptive-reuse rent range $28 to $40 psf NNN. On 18,000 SF: $504K to $720K base rent annually plus $12 to $18 psf NNN ($216K to $324K).
- Purchase case: 18,000 SF South End premium adaptive-reuse plus land basis. $180 to $280 psf purchase price = $3.24M to $5.04M plus closing plus improvements. SBA 504 or bank note.
Cost drivers to watch
- Rigging grid engineering: variable $250K to $500K depending on existing structure. If bowstring truss (Camp North End) or old mill wood (Atherton), budget the high end.
- Broadcast infrastructure: phasing decision. If not launching broadcast day one, phase truss motors and camera package to conserve $200K.
- Café buildout: hood plus grease trap plus tempered makeup air can inflate MEP by $80K to $150K. If alcohol license path is complicated, phase café bar to year 2.
- Recovery wing wet-zone: chiller redundancy and floor drain scope drives 8 to 12 percent of the wing. Do not cheap out on drainage.
- Acoustic assemblies: STC 70 assemblies to residential-above scenarios add $30 to $50 psf on the ceiling and demising walls. Verify neighbor use before signing.
Payment schedule (typical GMP)
- 10 percent at contract execution (mobilization, bonds, insurance).
- Monthly draw against schedule of values, less 10 percent retainage.
- Retainage reduced to 5 percent at 50 percent completion.
- Final 5 percent retainage released at substantial completion plus punch plus lien releases.
Funding stack (recommendation)
- Landlord TI: $1.08M.
- Bank loan or SBA 504 (real estate case): $3M to $4M.
- Equipment financing (FF&E plus tech): $500K to $750K at 6 to 8 percent APR.
- Founder equity plus outside equity: $2M to $3M.
- Working capital reserve (separate, not for buildout): $500K minimum for ramp.
Approval gates
- Gate 1: Site under LOI. Update budget with actual shell condition. Trill and Taj sign.
- Gate 2: Design development at 50 percent. GC preconstruction estimate. Reforecast within 5 percent.
- Gate 3: Construction documents at 100 percent. GMP contract signed. Lock the number.
- Gate 4: 25 percent construction complete. Reforecast. Contingency draw report.
- Gate 5: Substantial completion. Final reconciliation and contingency return.
Cross-ref: 00_PROPERTY_TARGETS.md, 03_BUILD_SPEC.md, 04_ARCHITECT_GC_SHORTLIST.md, 05_MEP_STRUCTURAL_ACOUSTIC.md.