Ind'l. buildings: What your customers will want to know

Industrial properties consist of three major groups: warehouse and distribution, factories and manufacturing, and Research and Development (R&D). Typically these buildings contain 10% office space, except R&D usually 50% office. Customers will indicate the type of building they need. Be sure to advise customers if the office area differs from the norm. The ability to store or stack goods changes the focus with most industrial buildings from square footage to cubic space; ceiling height being a significant measurement. Under steel (US), i.e. 24'US, twenty-four feet under steel is the measurement from the floor to the bottom of the steel girders that support the roof. Goods may not be stacked higher than the bottom of the roof supports. The distance, span, between the columns that hold up the roof is important to many businesses especially if they store trucks or vehicles in the building. Access to these building may be by overhead doors (similar to a garage door at a home, but large enough for a tractor trailer truck to enter). Loading docks are platforms of a height that matches the bed of a truck allowing goods to be rolled off the truck. Tail-boards allow a truck to back up to a building entrance (usually the size of the rear of a truck bay) and roll goods off the truck. Sometimes a declining ramp is constructed below grade to allow this function. Listings should indicate how many of each type of loading facility the building has. Key concerns of industrial "users" also include: amperage (power in the building), sprinklers, floor load (literally how much weight can a floor support, especially important in multi-story buildings), and available technology access. The current occupant may not use computers but your customer may be very hi-tech. If the building is not currently "wired" find out what phone and Internet access services are available - your customers will want to know. Industrial companies may be somewhat flexible as to the location of their facility, but need to consider: access to major highways, transportation expenses, labor availability and labor costs. Employees may require access to mass transit. Listings for industrial buildings typically quote the price per square foot as buyers compare this cost with other buildings and new construction. Often an industrial owner will list properties for either sale or lease (make sure your listing agreement covers both contingencies). Tenanted industrial buildings may also be sold as investments. When listing properties find out everything your customers will want to know. Edward Smith, RECS, is the Long Island metro regional director of Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT, Eastport, N.Y.