4800 sq ft Warehouse. What to do with it?

Question

We are in escrow on a fourplex that comes with an additional 4800 sq ft two story warehouse. It shares a well/septic with the fourplex and we're actively looking for something to do with it. This property is located along a major thoroughfare yet in a rural area of Southside Virginia and located about 10 minutes to "town" with a population of 15k. I would love to convert to more apartments but I'm not sure that the well and septic will handle it. Storage units, rent to a business to build out on their own? I'm looking for creative ideas from the BP crowd. On a positive note, our rent will cash flow positive even with the building staying empty but we would love to have a some additional income.

Cole Bigbee · Answer

@Ben Sears- Looks like it would make some great additional apartment units! With all the framing that is exposed at this point, it would not be that difficult to start framing in some walls, updating HVAC, electrical, and plumbing to accommodate tenants.

Matthew Irish-Jones · Answer

@Ben Sears stick a billboard on the st side and rent it out to local businesses by the month

Ben Sears · Answer

@Scott Mac I agree completely. Our area has a ton of history with the civil war and railroad. In fact the state park is adjacent to the property that was converted from a rail line to an 80 mile walking trail. Apartments are my first choice. We just need to investigate the septic system since it shares with the fourplex.

Cole Bigbee · Answer

@Ben Sears, is it a metal building by chance? If so, send me some pics and I can make some more accurate suggestions once I take a look. Just off the top of my head, some of your future tenants for the fourplex might need some shop or storage space. You might could try offering one unit as a package with additional storage....

I own several small warehouses I rent out to service providers (HVAC, plumbers, siding crew, electricians, or personal hobby shop). If it is a true metal building, it might can easily be broken up into several smaller units that you could get a higher $ psf overall.

Ben Sears · Answer

@Matt Clark good thought. Thanks for that.

Matt Clark · Answer

@Ben Sears changing the permitted use is likely to open up a lot of code compliance issues that would otherwise be grandfathered. I’d suggest talking to the building/zoning department to get a sense of what they will allow before putting any plans into action. For example, adding apartments may require septic upgrade, fire sprinklers, and accessibility improvements.

Kurt Wallenborn · Answer

Cool building. Farmville is a great small town. Big fan of Greenfront Furniture! I'm originally from Roanoke and lived in Richmond, so I passed through frequently. Depending on how large the lot is, a business is definitely a possibility. How busy of a thoroughfare is it - is this a main Street or not? How much parking can be fit? Is it zoned for business? Are there businesses located close by? If it's truly rural (assuming here, we know what that does), getting an actual business in there might be tricky - aka will take a long time and vacancy will be most likely be recurrent. Ask any retail business owners around there if they have any ideas. If they scoff at it, I'd focus on multifamily. Easiest route I'd suggest is multifamily, but if there's demand for commercial space, this might be a good route to investigate. I know Virginia has lucrative historic tax credits...this might be a property to evaluate (appears pretty old aka historic). Also those wood beams are AWESOME. Thanks!

Ben Sears · Answer

Thanks @Matthew Irish-Jones I appreciate it!

Matthew Irish-Jones · Answer

@Ben Sears you need to know your local laws.  There can be restrictions on commercial advertising in residential areas. You also need to know the market as to what a client may be willing to pay.  I am by no means an expert but, you asked for some outside of the box thinking LOL.

Ben Sears · Answer

@Matthew Irish-Jones is there anything special I need to know about billboards? Traffic counts or something crazy? Or is it just as easy as stick it up and market it to businesses?

4800 sq ft Warehouse. What to do with it?

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