Energy –
Tenants care about energy requirements. Now that you must disclose energy use to all new tenants in California this issue will continue to maintain relevance. Whenever you are re-roofing its wise to add 4′ x 8′ skylights. In the context of this article I can’t give you an exact amount needed to meet your requirements but it should be enough to allow good vision inside on a clear sunny day or 10 ftcd. Lighting is changing in a big way as l.e.d. technology will soon drop significantly in price. As soon as this happens it will be wise to change everything to l.e.d. Prices are expected to drop to a fraction of their current levels within the next few years. Also removing large mediterranean or traditional style landscape designs will require less maintenance and water. They can also be improved upon significantly if desired.
Security –
Tenants love a secure building. Exterior doors should all be high strength industrial doors. Roll up doors should all be in good working order as well. Security is probably the biggest concern for people in materials storage and I can’t count how many times I have seen a barely functional beat up door on a building in the process of going through a million dollar leasing agreement. Bars on the skylights are also a big plus because most people don’t think about them. But just the fact that you have them will show it’s a big priority and will set their mind at ease.
Exterior Paint & Epoxy Floor
Exterior paint is a huge selling point but it’s also the first line of defense in protecting your building from the elements. Epoxy the warehouse floor is rather uncommon but its a great investment. The floor space is your product and an epoxy floor is a top of the line product. It has two advantages; the first is it protect your floor from damage and the second is it reflects lights reducing your energy requirements. I have seen countless cases of floor damaged repeatedly until the floor looks like the surface of the moon. At that point the owner must replace the floor entirely. By applying epoxy you can hold tenants responsible much easier because every bit of damage will be visible. You can also easily fix and hide damage after they are gone. Lastly is will protect the floor from chemicals and encourage careless workers not to be so careless with your pristine floor.
Office Layout
The greatest pet peeve is for me is custom built office or remodel before a tenant is in the building. In 99% of cases they are trying to sell the building with the nice appearance of a remodel. But they are only remodeling because they didn’t build a modular structure with more options in the first place. Its much wiser to build a 500 square foot bull pen with attached restroom and kitchen. This way walls and carpet can be added anywhere to suit a new tenant at minimal cost. Need a two story? They sell pre-manufactured mezzanines which can be bolted to the floor. By building an open structure you create more possibilities. Its also likely that the tenant will like the large bullpen and use partition or cubicles in lieu of something else.
Interested in getting your building leased or remodeled? Please call the office and discus your needs with us. We have experience building, remodeling and leasing our own commercial properties and would be happy to investigate how we could help your commercial property make greater financial returns.