Cost of medical office build-out, Knoxville, TN

[Igor S.]

Hi, I am a physician in Knoxville, TN and was put in charge of finding a large office space for us to purchase (6-10,000 SF). One option is to buy an existing office and gut it and build it out to our needs/ plans. Another option is to find an empty lot and build on it. We are getting all sorts of quotes ranging from $40/ SF all the way to $115/SF for the interior build-out (walls, electrical, cabinets, sinks) for the existing "shell". Building a new office will be more like ~ $165/SF (this number includes ~$15/ SF land prep cost) + price of the land lot on the top of that. Anyone has any knowledge / experience on the pricing? What would be the better way to go (rehabbing an old 25-40 year old office space at a better location vs building a new one where land is far from the desired location/ highways)? Any advise is appreciated.