Whether you’re the Managing Director of a local business or you’ve been tasked by your MD to organise a new building for the workers as a storage facility or for another purpose entirely, assessing your options is the first step.
What are your choices when needing a new facility on a modest budget in a location close to your existing facilities?
Finding a Local Building
Depending on whether your existing building is on an industrial estate or a private piece of land, it may or may not be possible to find a nearby vacant property available for commercial use. For businesses, the terms of the lease and the cost of the rent tends to be unfriendly. It is easy to get into a situation where the building that’s closest to your present location is the most expensive, especially if the landlord understands that you want close proximity to your current facilities.
You will either need to wait a while for a suitable building to become available or you may have to tolerate less friendly costs and raising the ire of your MD into the bargain when seeking a second building near to your current one.
Prefab Buildings
Another option is using a prefab building concept. These are buildings that are designed in component parts which are then fitted together on-site. In about 75% of cases, the buyer of the building assembles the buildings themselves and in the other 25% of cases they hire in experts to do so. While assembly does take time, it’s not that difficult.
The beauty of prefab buildings is that they often are customisable to different dimensions to suit the needs of the buyer. Do you have space on your existing property to put up a large building for use as a storage facility, a second workshop or for another purpose? Then you could be in luck. These general steel buildings provide the ultimate in flexible design options, rigid steel frames, custom cladding, natural light, and the durability to last for decades. More information can be found from the experts at Steel Buildings who have a page about general steel buildings, their benefits and some images of completed structures if you want to see whether they’re a suitable option for your needs.
The cost of a steel building is far lower than buying a bricks and mortar one or leasing and renting forever. Once purchased, the company owns the building and could even disassemble it, relocate it later and re-assemble it again. The component parts are replaceable too should a worker have an unfortunate accident with a forklift truck and a side wall. Plus, this type of building is virtually maintenance free, which saves on the cost of a full-time property manager.
Relocating Your Business Operations
When you’re not able to find a suitable second building nearby, the next option to consider is relocating either to a larger multi-use building or a site that has perhaps an office building and a second one for industrial use, as a warehouse or a storage facility. The cost of uplifting the entire business is an expensive proposition, especially with the need to operate out of two facilities in the short-term to ensure there’s no interruption of vital services.
Finding a site that already has two buildings that are suitable for the company’s needs is tricky. You often must cast a wide net and it may take months to find something suitable for the business. Depending on the time-frame that the MD provided when he/she wanted to have the new facilities up and running, it may not be fast enough.
What is the right choice when you’re on a tight budget and need a new commercial building? It really depends on what type of use is required of the building (office, warehouse, commercial workspace). The budget is also a factor as some options are just out of the budget range.
