New Commercial & Shopping Centers for Houston Area Buildings
Shopping centers and new commercial builds are where service-entrance sizing, tenant metering, and signage power all have to land on the same set of drawings. Solivance Electric handles ground-up electrical for retail pads, strip centers, mixed-use developments, and shopping-center anchor-plus-satellite builds across Greater Houston. Service entrance and main switchgear, tenant meter banks, vanilla-shell rough-in, site lighting and photometric design, landscape power, signage and pylon power, and tenant turnover inspections. When the center opens, every box is lit, every meter is set, and every tenant has what their lease requires.
Ground-up electrical for retail pads, strip centers, mixed-use, and shopping-center builds. Service entrance through tenant turnover.
What's included
- Service entrance and tenant meter banks
- Vanilla-shell tenant rough-in
- Site lighting, photocells, and pylon sign power
- Phased tenant turnover and inspection walks
“I definitely recommend Solivance Electric to anyone looking for a great, honest electrician. I cannot say enough good things about this company. After being without power for two days after Hurricane Beryl, we reached out wanting a generator interlock installed. Solivance Electric came out that very same day — they had worked through the night to get to everyone else needing the same. They made it clear they were prioritizing homes with children and pets. Aside from the interlock, they found other issues in the panel that could have caused a fire. These are my go-to guys from here on.”
How it works
Service entrance sizing against anchor loads, tenant meter bank layout, site-lighting photometric, signage power, landscape. Every line on the drawings reviewed before a trench opens.
Primary service from CenterPoint, main switchgear, tenant meter banks, sub-panels. Underground feeders to pylons, site lighting, and landscape. Stubs to every future tenant space.
Tenant space electrical to vanilla-shell spec — panel, lighting rough, HVAC disconnects, RTU whips. Exterior wall packs and site lighting on photocell and timer control.
Pricing
Ground-up commercial retail electrical typically runs $5–$11 per square foot for the full scope — service entrance, distribution, tenant metering, site lighting, vanilla-shell rough-in. A 20,000 sq ft strip center falls in the $100,000–$220,000 range. Larger shopping centers with anchor tenants, pylon signs, and extensive site lighting push higher. Vanilla-shell versus fully-finished tenant turnover changes the number substantially.
Timeline
A 20,000 sq ft strip center typically takes 6–12 weeks of on-site electrical phased against the GC schedule — underground, service entrance, in-wall rough, tenant metering, site lighting, trim, and commissioning. Larger centers with phased tenant openings stretch to 4–6 months.
Code & permits
Shopping-center electrical falls under NEC Articles 220, 230, and 240 for service and feeder sizing, Article 410 for lighting, and Article 600 for electric signs and outline lighting. Tenant metering is coordinated with CenterPoint Energy on the primary service and with each tenant on the secondary. AIC ratings on tenant switchgear must match the CenterPoint feeder at the address.