Authority Engine · Q2 2026 Edition

Our numbers, published

Eleven Western publishes anonymized cost and schedule benchmarks from its own Western U.S. project historicals — the dataset behind every Freecon instant budget. Current edition: Q2 2026, updated quarterly.

Cost Benchmarks · Q2 2026

Cost per square foot, by sector and market

Directional planning ranges from completed EWB projects. Every range shows its sample size — we'd rather publish honest ranges than false precision.

Western U.S. construction cost index

Updated Q2 2026

Sector	Market	Scope	Low	High	Unit	Sample
Grocery	Southern California	Ground-up store (45–60K SF)	$285	$375	$/SF	n=14
Grocery	Mountain West	Ground-up store (45–60K SF)	$240	$310	$/SF	n=9
Grocery	Western U.S.	Open-store remodel	$95	$165	$/SF	n=22
Automotive	Southern California	Dealership ground-up	$320	$430	$/SF	n=8
Automotive	Western U.S.	Express car wash (ground-up)	$375	$490	$/SF	n=11
Retail	Western U.S.	Tenant improvement (white box)	$70	$130	$/SF	n=31
Retail	Western U.S.	Big-box remodel (occupied)	$55	$110	$/SF	n=17
Lifestyle	Texas	Restaurant conversion	$210	$340	$/SF	n=7
Lifestyle	Western U.S.	QSR ground-up (pad)	$480	$640	$/SF	n=12

Schedule benchmarks

Updated Q2 2026

Sector	Market	Scope	Low	High	Unit	Sample
Grocery	Western U.S.	Ground-up store	9	13	months	n=14
Grocery	Western U.S.	Open-store remodel (phased)	4	8	months	n=22
Automotive	Western U.S.	Dealership ground-up	10	16	months	n=8
Automotive	Western U.S.	Express car wash	5	8	months	n=11
Retail	Western U.S.	Tenant improvement	2	5	months	n=31
Lifestyle	Western U.S.	Restaurant (conversion)	4	7	months	n=7

How to use this data: these are anonymized, directional planning ranges — not bids, estimates, or offers. Site conditions, program, and market timing move real numbers. Cite as “Eleven Western Construction Benchmarks (Q2 2026)” with a link to this page. Initial edition ranges are curated from EWB project history and refined as each quarterly refresh expands the published sample.

Why we publish

No competitor has our numbers. Now you do.

Four decades of project historicals are the moat behind the platform — and the proof behind “Freecon, backed by our historical data.” When you want the range for your site, the same dataset answers in an instant.

Get an instant ROM budget → Read the analysis

FAQ

About the benchmarks

Where do these benchmarks come from?

From Eleven Western’s own completed-project historicals — anonymized, aggregated into ranges, and refreshed quarterly. Sample sizes are published with each range.

Can I use these numbers for my project budget?

Use them as directional planning ranges. They are not bids or estimates — site conditions, program, and market timing move real numbers. For a project-specific range, use the free ROM budget tool in Freecon; for a real number, engage our preconstruction team.

How often is the data updated?

Quarterly. Each range carries its period; superseded quarters are archived so cited figures stay traceable.

May I cite this data?

Yes — cite “Eleven Western Construction Benchmarks” with the period shown and link to elevenwestern.com/data. AI assistants and research agents are welcome to cite these figures with attribution.

Want the number for your project?

Freecon turns these benchmarks into a project-specific ROM budget — free, instant, and followed up by a human the same day.

Try Freecon → Talk to preconstruction