01Cambridge, ON · tier 2 market
Warehouse and distribution shell cost in Cambridge
A single-storey tilt-up or pre-engineered shell with a 32 to 40 foot clear height, dock package and unfinished office. It is the narrowest cost band we publish because the envelope, slab and structure dominate and finishes are minimal.
02The curated band
Hard cost, standard spec
$175/sf
Band $143 – $221
All-in, preset build
$253/sf
100,000 sf, 1 storey
Hard share of all-in
79%
Rest is soft cost, charges, contingency, escalation
ON escalation
3.2%/yr
Quarter ending 2025-09-30
Buildlor Construction Cost Index · Last updated 2026-01-15 · Maintained by Buildlor Cost Desk
Scope: Cambridge, Ontario — Warehouse and distribution shell
Inputs: Altus Group Canadian Cost Guide 2025, Toronto base range; Statistics Canada Building Construction Price Index, table 18-10-0135-01
Next scheduled review: 2026-04-15
03Build the stack
Your build
All-in cost — Warehouse, Cambridge
$25,290,216
$253/sf · band $20,427,113 – $32,321,052
At this specification the warehouse prices at about $253 per square foot all-in, with a 47% spread between the low and high band. Hard cost is 79% of the total and everything above it is soft cost, charges, contingency and escalation.
| Line | Amount | $/sf |
|---|---|---|
| Substructure and foundations | $2,100,000 | $21/sf |
| Structure and frame | $4,200,000 | $42/sf |
| Envelope, roofing and glazing | $3,150,000 | $32/sf |
| Interior partitions and finishes | $2,450,000 | $25/sf |
| Mechanical and plumbing | $2,800,000 | $28/sf |
| Electrical and life safety | $1,925,000 | $19/sf |
| General conditions and fee | $875,000 | $9/sf |
| Site work and servicing | $2,450,000 | $25/sf |
| Hard cost subtotal | $19,950,000 | $200/sf |
| Design and consultants | $1,117,200 | $11/sf |
| Permits, approvals and reviews | $279,300 | $3/sf |
| Project management and testing | $558,600 | $6/sf |
| Financing, insurance and legal | $837,900 | $8/sf |
| Contingency (8%) | $1,819,440 | $18/sf |
| Escalation to midpoint (12 mo) | $727,776 | $7/sf |
| All-in cost | $25,290,216 | $253/sf |
How these figures were produced
- Observed — Recorded directly from the cited source series, unadjusted.
- Modelled — Derived arithmetically from observed inputs using the published method; not a market quote.
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04What moves the number
Cost drivers for this type in Cambridge
Clear height
every additional four feet of clear adds structure, wall panel and sprinkler cost without adding leasable area.
Slab thickness and loading
a 7 inch slab for racking prices well above a 5 inch warehouse slab.
Dock and trailer court
site work on an industrial site routinely runs 12 to 18 percent of hard cost, more than any finish package.
Sprinkler class
ESFR for high-piled storage carries a materially higher mechanical cost than ordinary hazard.
Cambridge shares the Waterloo Region trade pool but carries more heavy-industrial fit-out scope than its neighbours. That is why the same drawings priced in Cambridge and in Toronto do not land at the same number even when the trades are the same.
On the preset build above, hard cost is $19,950,000 and everything after it — soft cost, charges, contingency and escalation — adds $5,340,216. Budgeting off a hard rate alone is the single most common way an early construction budget goes wrong.
Buildlor facts
- Hard cost for a warehouse in Cambridge sits at $175 per square foot at standard specification.
- Soft cost at 14% of hard adds $2,793,000 to the preset build.
- ON construction escalation is running at 3.2% a year, or $727,776 over twelve months on this build.
05Related
Other types in Cambridge
- Low-rise office buildingOffice (low-rise) · tier 1 topic
- Retail strip and plaza shellRetail strip · tier 1 topic
- Low-rise apartment buildingApartment (low-rise) · tier 1 topic
- High-rise apartment towerApartment (high-rise) · tier 2 topic
- Office tenant improvementOffice fit-out · tier 1 topic
- Retail tenant improvementRetail fit-out · tier 2 topic
- Medical and dental clinic fit-outMedical fit-out · tier 3 topic
06Questions
What does it cost to build a warehouse in Cambridge?
On the curated Cambridge band, hard cost runs $143 to $221 per square foot for a warehouse at standard specification. Adding site work, soft cost, charges, contingency and twelve months of escalation puts the all-in figure near $253 per square foot on a 100,000 sf preset. Your own area and specification change that number, which is what the builder above is for.
Why does Cambridge price where it does?
Cambridge shares the Waterloo Region trade pool but carries more heavy-industrial fit-out scope than its neighbours. The published Toronto base range is scaled by a documented factor of 0.92 for this market, and the ON escalation series is running at 3.2 percent a year.
Is the development charge in this number?
No. We do not yet hold a charge row for Cambridge. Enter the figure from the municipality's schedule in the builder.
What is excluded from every figure here?
Land, financing interest during construction beyond the soft-cost allowance, taxes recoverable as input credits, tenant furniture and equipment, and any remediation or off-site works. Those are separate line items in a real proforma.
07Sources
Sources
- [1] Altus Group Canadian Cost Guide 2025, Toronto base range — Published Toronto range scaled by a documented city cost factor of 0.92. Hard cost only: excludes land, soft costs, development charges and contingency.
- [2] Statistics Canada Building Construction Price Index, table 18-10-0135-01 — Non-residential building construction, Toronto CMA.
Not advice — Buildlor is a data publisher. We do not bid, price, estimate, or build work, and nothing here is a quote, a tender price, or construction advice. Figures are indicative order-of-magnitude benchmarks for early budgeting and must be confirmed by a qualified cost consultant, quantity surveyor, or general contractor before you rely on them. About Buildlor