I am beginning to research mini-office-warehouse facilities with the intent of building one. I have scoured the internet and there seems to be little to no information regarding these types of facilities. I did see references on a couple places where some "self-storage" facilities are upgrading to offer a small office space connected to a storarge unit. Or more apltly stated mini-office-warehouse.

Does anyone have experience with these types of facilities and could you help direct me to any resources on this subject?

Do these types of units fall under the "sellf storage business" structure or is this considered something entirely different?

Are there any SF-Bay area business owners that have these types of facilities?

It seems with the ever increasing startup, home business, ebay business and interenet businesses, that these types of facilities would in great demand. I know I could use one. I saw a couple of these when I was in the Atlanta area a couple years ago, but have yet to see anything in the SF-Bay area.

Thanks for your time.

These facilities are getting popular all over. You said you've been searching for informaton. What specific questions do you have? The last one we built was a 70' x 200' building with 25' bays. The eave ht was 16'. Each bay had a large rollup door and one walkthrough. The tenents were able to build out the interior to suit their needs. The owner (Houston area) has a waiting list for renters.

__________________
Dan Wolan
A-Lert Building Systems
dwolan@centurionind.com
www.alertbuildingsystems.com
(248) 961-3112
(800) 210-5375

Storage builder. Thanks for the link, another peice to my resources. I see a picture on the website that looks like what I am looking for. However, I don't see a floor plan for it.

When you say build out the interior. Was it one big open bay and they could section off an office part, or is there a seperate wall dividing warehouse and office area?

What I am thinking is something that is already sectioned off. An office area where a renter can put in cubicle dividers etc and designated warehouse area with roll-up door. A walk through door from office area to warehouse.

I will begin creating a business plan and what I hope to get from these forums are resources that can help supply some of the following.

Rough building and construction costs? I wonder if A-Lert works in the SF-Bay Area?
Time to construct a unit like this?
Bathrooms in each unit or shared bathroom area?
Current Rental Rates, lease options?
Is each unit wired for internet phone individually?
Zoning and addresses any special issues?. Can mail be delivered to each unit (i.e. Suite A, B...) or is there a single office area where mail is dropped? Obviously with the roll-up doors a freight truck could at least get close.
Any sessons learned.

I understand the costs in the Bay Area are going to be quite a bit higher than Texas I imagine, especially land. Here I might be better off buying something run down, flattening it and building back up.


thanks again for any responses.

I found an interesting site plan on the net - Rampart Business Plaza in Centennial Colorado - see
http://www.rampartbiz.com/index.htm





They basically use 30-foot wide buildings along the frontage of their property and split them with a 20x15 office area up front and a 20x15 storage area with a regular roll-up door in tha back - inside the gate where there are also standard self-storage buildings. The front looks like a typical strip mall with windows, glass doors and two parking spaces per unit. They charge $750 a month for the combined 600 square feet.

Here's the typical floorplan:



It looks to me like they use shared restrooms. I would assume that each unit is individually metered for electricity and each has it's own phone hook-up. You could probably offer WiFi Internet access for an additional fee.

The key to success here is to build in an area with a shortage of small office space. The challenge will be to find land that is zoned for both offices and mini storage.

Also see Trachte's webinar on this site "Making MORE of Your Self-Storage Site: Boat/RV and Mobile Ancillary Storage". There is a brief section about combining office space with self-storage and a picture or two.

http://www.insideselfstorage.com/web...ew/info/id/177


I can help you with a site plan if/when you get that far. Email me for some samples of my work.

Best of Luck,
Steve Smith
Custom Site Plans
SteveSmith@ByteOne.com

Private Mini Storage has several locations in Texas. Here they show several floorplans:

http://www.private-mini.com/offlay.htm

Suite & Storage in Alpharetta, GA has spaces starting at $450 a month.

http://www.suiteandstorage.com/

Advantage Storage with several locations near McKinney, TX:

http://www.advantagestorage.net/

Modular Mini Storage offers Fast-Build Panelized Construction kits to the self-storage industry. They claim that more customers are including office/warehouse units in their mix.

From their web site http://www.modularministorage.com/ :

Office/Warehouse (Flex-Space)

-An EXCITING new opportunity for self-storage owners.
-MODULAR's panelized building system allows you to develop office/warehouse space at a lower cost than other building systems.
-Our pre-fabricated walls support the roof structure.
-Eliminates need for rigid iron frames.
-No cranes required for erection.
-Our walls distribute roof loads so foundations are less complicated and less expensive.
-Steel stud wall framing already in place for:
-Insulated office and warehouse walls,
-Demising walls,
-Firewalls, and
-A multitude of architectural finishes.
-Pre-fabricated walls include framed openings for windows and doors.

Perfect for smaller sites or part of a larger complex. These units are perfect for contractors, small businesses, and people needing a larger space. Spaces are leased by the year and require less intensive management.Each building is custom designed to meet your needs, and our delivery time is much shorter than the rigid iron folks.

Office/Warehouse developments can be built on smaller properties not well suited for self-storage. They can be incorporated into larger projects to make better use of street frontage or flag lot locations. Multiple tenants spread your risk. Longer term leases minimize management costs.