Zones ranked for your brand
Type a brand and a county. Each zone shows its build cost range, how many business days permits are planned to take, and where each figure comes from.
Free for Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm BeachKnow where it works
Know where it works
before you sign the lease.
See which South Florida zones fit your brand, what the build will likely cost, and how long permits take. Every number is sourced and dated.
Start here
- Pick the card that sounds like you
- Answer two quick questions
- See your zones on the map
Other professionals:Commercial realtorContractorArchitectPermit expeditor
Opening a franchise and short on time? 5-tap quick start:My first franchise →I already own one →
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See it for yourself
Type your brand. Watch the zones rank themselves.
Twelve zones across three counties. Tap any one for its build cost and permit time, no sign-up needed.
Start with a brand name; all three counties are included by default. You can narrow the area anytime, and explore without creating an account.
Colliers Q3 2026 data active Next refresh: Jan 2027 Your searches stay anonymous
When you're ready to go deeper
Your research path, in six steps
- 1Your brandHow the brand's requirements and FDD figures line up with a location, scored.
- 2Where to openEvery South Florida zone ranked for your brand, plus verified spaces that fit it.
- 3Paying for itSBA lenders that fit your project, matched to how you are opening.
- 4PermitsThe building code edition that applies, the legal permit clock and the cost of waiting.
- 5Building itA planning estimate for the buildout, and contractors compared on the same questions.
- 6Your PDFYour Site Support Package: one sourced document that pulls the five steps together, ready to print or send to a lender or landlord.
Start my Zone Report →Step 1 takes a few minutes. You can stop and come back.
What you leave with
Nothing to sign up for to start. Save a free project when you want to come back to it.Answers that carry forward
What you enter for brand fit also feeds funding, permits and build planning, so you answer each question once. Stop any time and pick it up on another device.
A sourced PDF for a lender or landlord
Your research assembles into one document with each figure dated and linked to its source, ready to print or send.
Learn with ClearBuild
Read these before you sign anything.
Guides for the expensive decisions
What to ask before you sign a lease, how to compare two buildout bids line by line, and why a cheap space can cost more to open.
Explore ClearBuild Insights →Compare notes with people who've done it
Ask about a lease, a bid or a permit and trade notes with franchisees, brokers and builders. There's a Break Room too, for puzzles and polls.
Meet the ClearBuild community →ClearCircle: share places and find your people
Looking for a community beyond professional work? Join ClearCircle to share restaurant and local finds, talk about experiences with brands, and connect with friends.
Visit ClearCircle →Every number shows where it came from
Retail vacancy and asking rent by county, from Colliers' Q3 2026 reports. Next update when Colliers Q4 2026 is released (Jan 2027).
Miami-Dade3.1%vacancy · $44.34/SF/yr
Broward4.3%vacancy · $27.65/SF/yr
Palm Beach4.0%vacancy · $31.78/SF/yr
Why the steps connect. A good rent can still be a bad deal once permits and materials are added. Take a Broward space at the county average of $27.65 per SF per year. If the permit takes the full 60 business days and materials keep rising at today's pace (11.2% a year, about 2.7% a quarter), the wait can mean months of carrying costs before you open. ClearBuild puts the rent, the permit clock and the cost trend side by side so you can weigh that before you sign.
Legal permit clock for buildings under 25,000 SF: 60 business days. Sources: Colliers Q3 2026 county retail reports (Oct 2026); Fla. Stat. §553.792; ABC analysis of BLS Producer Price Index data (published Oct 15, 2026). ClearBuild organizes the research. You make the decision. Full Opening Index →
What changes before your 2027 opening
New Florida Building Code (9th Edition) takes effect statewide
The 9th Edition (2026) Florida Building Code takes effect statewide on Dec 31, 2026. Miami-Dade says permit applications submitted through its online portal after 4 PM on Dec 30 must comply with the new edition. Check which edition your permit falls under.
Check your code edition →Source: 2026 Florida Building Code, 9th Edition (ICC); Florida Building Commission · verified Oct 13, 202660 business days: the legal permit clock for most franchise buildouts
For a nonresidential building under 25,000 SF, the local government must approve or deny within 60 business days of a complete and sufficient application. If it misses the deadline, the permit fee is reduced 10% for each business day late.
See your permit clock →Source: Fla. Stat. §553.792 · verified Oct 13, 2026Nonresidential construction input prices are still climbing
Monthly drivers: crude petroleum +28.3%, unprocessed energy materials +22.2%, and natural gas +5.1%. Higher fuel costs from the Iran conflict drove much of the rise, and prices for tariffed metals such as iron and copper kept rising rapidly. ABC's Anirban Basu notes this is the largest year-over-year increase in nearly four years. At that pace, materials bought one quarter later cost about 2.7% more.
Cost of waiting →Source: ABC analysis of BLS Producer Price Index data (published Oct 15, 2026)More ways to use ClearBuild
Shortcuts for when you already know the one question you want answered.Step 2 · Market & siteBrowse spaces posted by commercial realtorsAsk about a listing and keep the property, site requirements and next steps connected in one thread.Step 5 · Build & partnersCompare contractors on the same questionsLicense, insurance, build time, self-performed trades and references, side by side. No paid ranking.