State of Florida
Commercial Glazing.
A 2026 review of permitting, code impact, and system market share across Florida's commercial glazing market — drawn from 350+ projects delivered by ACG between 2020 and 2026.
1. Executive summary
Despite the headwinds, demand remains strong — particularly in hospitality, multifamily, and Class-A office construction along Florida's three coasts. Specifiers and GCs that adapt to the new permitting reality and new code edition will move faster than competitors who don't.
2. Methodology
This report draws on three data sources: (1) ACG's internal project database covering 350+ commercial glazing installations delivered between 2020 and 2026 across Florida; (2) public Florida Building Code documentation, including the 8th Edition (2026) wind-load and HVHZ provisions; and (3) public Florida Product Approval and Miami-Dade NOA records.
This report draws on ACG's delivered commercial glazing work on competitively bid projects. The dataset skews toward hospitality, multifamily, healthcare, retail, and Class-A office projects — not residential or industrial. Trends are presented qualitatively; system mix, design pressure, and project size all introduce significant variance, and project-specific pricing is provided only in ACG's itemized bids.
Permit timeline data is drawn from ACG's submittal-to-approval logs across Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, Lee, Collier, Hillsborough, and Pinellas counties from 2024-2026.
4. Permit timelines by county
Median commercial glazing permit timeline (submittal to issued) across Florida's 10 most active commercial counties, 2026.
| County | Median (weeks) | 2024 baseline | HVHZ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miami-Dade | 10 | 5 | Yes |
| Broward | 9 | 5 | Yes |
| Palm Beach | 5 | 4 | No |
| Martin | 4 | 3 | No |
| St. Lucie | 4 | 3 | No |
| Indian River | 4 | 3 | No |
| Lee | 5 | 4 | No |
| Collier | 5 | 4 | No |
| Hillsborough | 4 | 3 | No |
| Pinellas | 4 | 3 | No |
5. Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2026) impact
The 8th Edition went into effect in late 2025 and brought five significant changes for commercial glazing:
1. ASCE 7-22 wind loads. Design pressures rose 10-15% in some counties versus the prior edition. This forces stronger anchoring patterns and, in some cases, larger frame depth to maintain the same opening size.
2. Revised HVHZ test protocols. Many existing Florida Product Approvals had to be revised or re-tested. Some assemblies that were approved in 2023 are no longer compliant in 2026 without modification.
3. Expanded ANSI Z97.1 safety glazing requirements. More opening locations now mandate tempered or laminated safety glazing. Healthcare and hospitality fit-outs are most impacted.
4. Stricter sealant and water-test compliance. Curtainwall projects increasingly require ASTM E1105 field water testing as part of permit close-out, not just at architect's discretion.
5. Energy code adjustments. Maximum U-values and SHGC ratings tightened in several climate zones, driving more spec'ing of low-E coatings on commercial IGUs.
6. HVHZ market dynamics
Miami-Dade and Broward counties account for an outsized share of Florida commercial glazing demand — roughly 38% of new commercial construction by SF in 2026 across ACG's project mix. The HVHZ premium continues to widen.
| Metric | HVHZ | Non-HVHZ |
|---|---|---|
| Permit timeline | 8-12 weeks | 3-5 weeks |
| NOA documentation requirement | Mandatory | FPA only |
| Field water test | Required by AHJ | At architect discretion |
| Common system substitution rate | ~5% | ~22% |
Note the substitution rate: in HVHZ counties, only 5% of projects substitute the originally specified glazing system. Non-HVHZ projects substitute on 22% of bids. The reason is straightforward — NOA-listed assemblies are difficult to substitute without re-permitting, while statewide FPAs are more interchangeable.
7. System market share (ACG dataset, 2024-2026)
Distribution of installed systems across ACG's last 200 commercial projects.
| System | Project share | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Storefront (impact + non-impact) | 42% | Stable |
| Curtainwall (standard + high-performance) | 22% | Growing (+4pp) |
| Window wall (multifamily) | 14% | Growing (+3pp) |
| Multi-slide / Bi-fold (Euro-Wall) | 11% | Stable |
| Fire-rated (TGP / Slimpact) | 6% | Stable |
| Automatic entrances (Allegion) | 3% | Stable |
| Other | 2% | — |
Curtainwall and window wall are the two growth segments. Both are driven by Class-A office construction in Tampa, Orlando, and Fort Lauderdale, plus the multifamily high-rise boom in West Palm Beach and Naples.
8. Regional breakdown
Distribution of ACG project volume across Florida's commercial regions, 2024-2026.
| Region | Project share | Office |
|---|---|---|
| South Florida (PB, Broward, Miami-Dade) | 52% | West Palm Beach HQ |
| SW Florida (Lee, Collier, Charlotte) | 24% | Naples |
| Tampa Bay / I-75 corridor | 12% | Tampa |
| Treasure Coast (Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River) | 8% | West Palm Beach HQ |
| Other (Central FL, NC FL) | 4% | Statewide |
9. Project type sectors
| Sector | Project share | Avg SF |
|---|---|---|
| Hospitality (hotel, resort, restaurant) | 26% | 4,200 |
| Multifamily (high-rise condo + apartment) | 22% | 11,500 |
| Class-A office | 18% | 8,800 |
| Healthcare | 10% | 5,400 |
| Retail / mixed-use | 10% | 2,200 |
| Critical facilities (fire, EOC, utility) | 6% | 3,100 |
| Education / institutional | 4% | 4,800 |
| Other | 4% | — |
10. 2026-2027 outlook
High-performance curtainwall and impact-rated assemblies will see the steepest increases.
Permitting: HVHZ counties unlikely to return to 2024 timelines. Plan for 8-12 week reviews indefinitely. Non-HVHZ counties remain stable at 3-5 weeks.
Code: No major FBC revision expected before 2028. Specifiers should design to ASCE 7-22 with comfortable margin to absorb future revisions.
Demand: Hospitality and multifamily continue strong. Class-A office demand tightening as Tampa and Orlando markets approach saturation. Healthcare construction expanding, particularly in SW Florida and the I-75 corridor.
Specialty trades: Glazing subcontractor capacity is the binding constraint on new project starts in South Florida. Owners and GCs that lock in glazing scope early and pay deposit in a timely manner are getting their material first. Late-bid and slow-pay scope is being deprioritized by every reputable Florida glazing firm.