Industrial space: costs, choices and current rules

Industrial buildings are chosen on specification. A warehouse that is short on clear height, or has columns in the wrong places, or cannot get a trailer around the corner of its own yard, stays wrong for the whole term. You cannot decorate around it.

This is the opposite of how office space gets shopped. The right sequence is to write down what your operation physically needs, then reject buildings on numbers before anyone books a tour.

What to take away

Reject buildings on clear height, column grid, loading and truck court before you tour. None of it can be fixed later.
Confirm electrical capacity with the utility and sprinkler suitability with a fire protection engineer and your insurer, not with the listing.
Anything you keep in the yard is usually regulated separately from the building, so ask the local authority in writing before you commit.

The dimensions that decide everything

Clear height. The usable height under the lowest obstruction (sprinkler heads, joists, ducts, lights), not the height at the peak. It sets how many pallet positions you get from the same floor area, so it drives your real cost per unit stored more than the rent does. Measure it yourself, at several points, including under the ducts.

Column spacing and bay depth. Columns dictate rack layout, aisle width, and how much of the floor you actually use. A grid that does not divide cleanly into your rack and aisle module wastes space in every bay. Bring your intended layout to the building rather than trying to reverse-engineer a layout from the building on the day.

Floor slab. Thickness and load capacity matter for racking, mezzanines and heavy equipment. Flatness matters if you use narrow-aisle or turret trucks, which can be intolerant of floors that are fine for a counterbalance forklift. Ask for the slab specification, look for existing cracking and joint damage, and have the floor assessed before committing if your equipment is sensitive.

Loading. Count and type: dock-high doors with levelers and seals, and grade-level or drive-in doors for vans and yard equipment. Check the door dimensions against what actually arrives at your business. Check whether the levelers work, what capacity they are rated for, and whether they suit the trailers you receive.

The truck court. Depth from the dock face to the far obstruction determines whether a trailer can back in without a shunt. Then look at the entrance radius, the gate, the internal circulation, and whether a truck can leave without reversing onto the road. Where you can, watch a delivery happen. Where you cannot, walk the route a trailer would take and look for the pinch point.

Trailer and vehicle parking. Separate from car parking, and often the first thing that runs out. Confirm what you are allocated in the lease, not what appears to be free space on the day.

Services, and whether they can be upgraded

Electrical service is the item that most often forces a building off the list. Find out the incoming service size and voltage, what is already committed to other tenants, and what is spare. Then ask the utility, not the landlord, what an upgrade would take and how long it would run. Utility lead times can exceed the entire fit-out schedule.

The same question applies to gas, water pressure and volume, and drainage, and to compressed air, floor drains, and any process waste. If your operation discharges anything other than ordinary sewage, find out who regulates that locally before you commit.

Also worth confirming: available data connectivity at the address, since industrial parks are not always well served, and whether the roof or yard can carry any equipment you plan to add later.

Fire protection is a compatibility question

The sprinkler system in the building was designed for a certain kind of storage. What you store, how high you stack it, how it is packaged, and whether racks have in-rack sprinklers all bear on whether the existing system suits your use.

You will not resolve this from a listing. Ask what system is installed and what it was designed for, then have a fire protection engineer and your insurer look at it against what you intend to keep there. Getting this wrong shows up in one of two ways: a fire authority that will not sign off, or an insurer that will not write the policy at a price you expected. Both arrive after you have signed.

Similar checks apply to racking and mezzanines. Installing them commonly needs its own approval and inspection, separate from any fit-out permit, so ask the local building authority what applies at your address.

Office content, and what it costs you

Most industrial buildings include some finished office, and the questions that decide a floor of office space apply to that part of the building too. Too little and you build it; too much and you pay warehouse rent for space you use as a desk, heated and cooled by a system that was never meant for it.

Look at the existing office's condition, its HVAC, its restrooms and accessibility, and whether it sits where you want it, since supervisors generally need to see the floor. Converting warehouse to office, or office back to warehouse, is a real construction project and belongs in your fit-out budget, not in a mental note.

If part of the unit will be a trade counter open to the public, that portion behaves more like retail space than warehouse, in both approvals and fit-out.

The yard is a zoning question, not a space question

Outside storage, container drops, trailer staging, skips, vehicle parking and anything you plan to keep in the open are frequently regulated separately from the building itself, and are among the most commonly restricted uses in industrial districts. So are hours of operation, external noise, and lighting.

The fact that a previous occupant kept material in the yard tells you nothing reliable. Ask the local authority directly, in writing, describing what you would keep outside and for how long.

How industrial leases differ

Industrial space is usually leased on a net basis, so the quoted rate is the start of the number rather than the end of it. A few allocations matter specifically here:

Roof and structure. Should sit with the landlord. Watch for drafts that pass roof repairs, or a share of a roof replacement, to the tenant.
HVAC. Warehouse and office units age differently. Try to make the landlord responsible for replacement, and cap what you can be asked to spend on repairs in a year.
Dock equipment. Levelers, seals, restraints and doors are worked hard and fail. Establish who maintains and who replaces them, and get their current condition documented at delivery.
The yard and paving. Repaving and drainage repairs are expensive. Check whether they are treated as maintenance you contribute to, or as a capital item that is excluded.
Slab damage. Expect an obligation to repair damage you cause. Document the floor's condition on day one, in photographs, so that pre-existing damage is not yours later.
Measurement. Industrial space is often quoted with little or no common area load, but confirm what the rentable figure includes, and confirm the mezzanine treatment if there is one.

Match the term to the equipment, not the mood

If your operation depends on installed equipment such as racking, a mezzanine, dust extraction, a spray booth or refrigeration, that investment is tied to this address and usually cannot move economically. That argues for a longer term, and it makes any clause allowing the landlord to terminate or relocate you far more dangerous than it looks.

It also makes the surrender obligation worth settling at the start. Removing a mezzanine or a rack system and making good the slab and the walls is a substantial cost, and a general obligation to return the space to its original condition can capture all of it.

If your volume is genuinely uncertain, look at whether the building supports growth in place, with spare bays, spare power and spare yard, before you look at short terms. Moving an operating warehouse is far more disruptive than moving an office.

What to check on the site visit

Go with a tape measure, a torch, and the list of what your operation needs.

Measure clear height at several points, not just where the agent stops.
Look at the roof from inside for staining and past repairs, and ask for the roof's age and any warranty.
Open the dock doors. Operate a leveler. Note anything seized, patched or missing.
Walk the truck route in and out and identify the tightest point.
Look at the floor joints and any cracking, and check for slope where you need it flat.
Find the electrical room and photograph the panel schedule and the service size.
Check where trailers would stand and whether that blocks anything else.
Come back at the hour your operation would be busiest and see what the roads and the park are like then.

Neighbours matter too. In shared parks, the tenant next door competes with you for yard space, for the shared entrance, and sometimes for the drainage. Ask who they are and what they do before you decide the site works.

Common questions

Which measurement rules out the most buildings?

Clear height, because it sets how many pallet positions come out of the same floor area. Two buildings with identical floor area can differ substantially in what they hold. Measure under the lowest obstruction rather than at the peak.

Can I put in racking or a mezzanine after I move in?

Usually, but installing them commonly needs its own approval and inspection, separate from any fit-out permit, and the slab has to suit the loads. Ask before you sign, and get the surrender position agreed at the same time.

Why does the truck court matter more than the number of dock doors?

Doors are useless if a trailer cannot line up with them. Depth from the dock face, the entrance radius and the internal circulation decide whether deliveries work without a shunt vehicle.

Should I take a longer term?

If your operation depends on installed equipment that cannot move economically, a longer term usually makes sense, and it makes any landlord right to terminate or relocate far more dangerous than it looks.