Now only in phrase bated breath, which was used by Shakespeare in The Merchant of Venice (1596). c.1300, to contend with blows or arguments, from Old French batre to hit, beat, strike, from Late Latin battere, from Latin batuere to beat, knock (see batter (v.)).
The average per square foot cost for commercial office space construction can be anywhere between $100 per square foot to $200 per square foot or even more.
However, the building costs vary only slightly compared to the variable costs of the land and site development. The average cost for construction, including site work/utilities, ranges from $23 to $28 per gross building square foot, or approximately 67 percent of the overall development budget.