Commercial Building

January 15, 2007 8:16 PM

I bought a piece of commercial property in a desirable area. Should I build three separate 4,500 square foot buildings or one large 13,500 square foot building?

There will be a law office a dentist and a third yet to be determined use. Depending on your answer what type of construction would you recomend?

posted by Mhead to grab bag (8 comments total)

The way I see it the options boil down to either a) three separate which gives you greater flexibility for future sell-off if needed, or b) one bigger building that may be remodled into a single large space in the future. I'd consider which is more likely for you to do in the future and go with that.
posted by edgeways at 8:22 PM on January 15, 2007

Make it like a strip center, all one building, three spaces. It will cost you more to make three separate buildings. Glass in front, cinder block sides and dividing. You can throw in some skylights too and the tenants will like you.
posted by lee at 8:30 PM on January 15, 2007

i don't know what's up with the gingerbread, but...

I'd go with one building, 3 separate floors. This reduces your building costs, and gives you a lot of options for future use. If you space it right, you can sell the remaining property if the value increases.

personally, i think 1 story office buildings look a little weird...almost warehouse-ish. With your tenant mix, I think they'd prefer having one building anyway (i.e, give the lawyers the top floor, the dentist the 1st floor, and some startup company the 2nd floor)
posted by unexpected at 8:52 PM on January 15, 2007

[a few hurf durf comments removed, please stop being asshats, thanks ]
posted by jessamyn at 8:53 PM on January 15, 2007

AskMe is not the best place to find such information, which is why you are getting noise answers, Mhead. You need to research the local zoning regulations, and consider carefully what kinds of buildings are in close proximity, and what could be done with your lot in terms of parking, street visible signage, and other amenties, to meet your target markets. Building to suit for immediate tenants is one kind of commercial business model, while building on spec for future tenants is quite another. You need to decide what market you are serving, what your zoning allows, what comp studies and traffic studies indicate, and decide accordingly. Whatever you propose will have to meet local zoning restrictions on commercial property, and your choices could radically affect your property's tax treatment, too. Failing to do proper site studies and due diligence is the #1 reason small commercial property developers fail economically.

You'd be far better served to consult with local commercial architects, Realtors, and leasing agents who know your site, than to give great credence to Internet suggestions.
posted by paulsc at 8:59 PM on January 15, 2007 [2 favorites has favorites]

One large building will be much easier to heat, cool, and maintain. A three story building will also (presumably) allow you to have a large amount of greenspace on the lot, pleasing your tenants. Don't just plant some grass and trees, create a nice outdoor setting with a patio and wrought-iron fenced garden or some other relaxing and usable setup. The law office can meet regular clients out on the patio in good weather, everyone will be more relaxed with some nice fake nature to relax in during breaks, and the property and businesses will look all the more attractive.
posted by Derive the Hamiltonian of... at 12:40 AM on January 16, 2007

paulsc is right on. People can answer this abstractly, sure, and they're not "wrong," but the things I'd consider determining factors are all missing, so I can't give a good answer. Eg:

The costs are going to be totally different for one large or three small buildings. It costs a lot more to build exterior walls. It costs a lot more to put in three separate heating systems. What do you have the money to build?

The usability will be very different. What kind of buildings does your target market want to be in? What kind of space do they need? What kind of building will be most attractive to them and bring them the most business? (This is the "comp studies" and "target markets" that paulsc mentioned.)

The flexibility for future tenants and resale options will be much different between one large and three small buildings. If the dentist leaves, what is the next most likely tenant to come in? How might they want to remodel? What sort of floor layout is the most profitable for resale?

What is the zoning like? I'd guess that (in most cities) you'll be better able to max out the buildable floor area and get more leasable space if you go with one larger building. But this is all determined by the zoning regulations paulsc mentions -- parking requirements, setbacks, height limits, and practical circulation constraints (how much space gets lost to driveways). If the city just regulates by the floor area ratio (FAR), then there's no difference between one large vs. three small as far as the city is concerned, and then you could still ask your question. More likely, they'll delineate the outside envelope ("you have to leave 10 feet on each side from the property edge, and you can't build more than 3 stories") and in that case, you'll probably want to build all that space, not wasting any of that potential building space on the circulation between three different buildings.

So, yeah, check out construction costs, zoning, and comparable projects aimed at your target market. I'm guessing the first two will point you toward one big building, but if the last one points you toward doing smaller buildings, you mostly have to do what the market wants.
posted by salvia at 12:59 AM on January 16, 2007

One building with a shared courtyard accessible only through one of the three office areas (access controlled by occupants). Underground parking, minimum aboveground parking. Also consider devoting roof space to courtyard-like activity.

Assuming three sides offering business fronts, make the fourth side face a desirable direction (sunny or shady or quiet, depending on circumstances) with an ivied wall or fence sufficient to keep out noise and intruders. Make part of the courtyard sheltered for rainy or sunny days, depending on climate. This central space could provide a safe, quiet, green place for employees and clients to meet, wait, have lunch, etc. Maybe a bike rack to encourage tenants to ride bikes there rather than use expensive parking spaces.

A courtyard doesn't maximize your use of space as offices, but it increases the value of the space that you do devote to offices. Make the building green and pleasant and safe for the occupants and their clients. Advertise it well and you'll get tenants willing to pay higher rents to get access to a beautiful courtyard.
posted by pracowity at 4:46 AM on January 16, 2007