Guidance to new shop!

[Shawn F.]

As time goes on, I find myself needing more and more space in my shop... I started out with 3000 sq ft. Recently went up to 6,000 sq ft and now finding that I need a little more... I have been looking at 7,000 and 8,000 sq ft shops for lease in my area but at the price of $3500-$6500 a month, I find that a bit ridiculous when I can buy land, build my own and my loan or mortgage would be cheaper. Plus, it would be mine to own. My question to you guys is this... Are there sites or places you recommended I go in order to design and research the steps I need to take in building a shop, learning about what permits I need, how I go about getting a loan on the shop, etc? Of course I am already looking at a 8000 sq ft setup so I believe building a 10,000 sq ft one would be the smart way to go. Another "need" is a full living quarters inside (preferably upstairs).

A little background on what I do: I own a full service auto detailing and customization shop. Also I own a restoration shop working and building classic cars, bikes, old appliances, etc and keeping the 2 businesses on opposite sides of the shop would be ideal. I am still trying to figure out the best layout and design for this. One option was to build 2 shops each at about 6000 sq ft but I am not sure... This is something I have been pondering for the last year or so and the time has been pushed where I need to start acting fast and get a game plan in place. My goal is to start such a project in the next year to 2 years but want to do all the research I can and want a very efficient setup both in work efficiency (layout) and energy savings (insulation, IR heaters, LED lights, etc). I will probably start being on the lookout for land in the next 6 months and then go from there.

Thanks in advance for any help/info! Pictures are greatly appreciated of similar setups too!

 

[padroo]

My first advice would be calling the local building inspector to see what is allowed about zoning and type of construction where you want to build the building and the appropriate building permits.

Don't talk to anyone that does not have the authority to give you permission. I learned this the hard way.

Go to the source.

 

[Shawn F.]

Thanks padroo! My plan is to look for commercial land first and then talk to a building inspector to make sure what I want to do on that property is okay. I want to get my ducks in a row and know which steps need to be taken and in what order so that way I can plan out how much it will cost to do what I want so I can get the loan process started. I am not sure if there needs to be one large loan to cover the land, building and labor or if separate ones have to be taken out. I have talked to some realtors and contractors and nobody seems to know or can give me a solid answer.

 

[nadogail]

Have a chat with your accountant and banker, they can help you put numbers into your plans.

 

[matt_i]

If you are running a business, you need to "write checks" and not be involved in daily construction details of "diy". In these parts, to get a traditional construction mortgage for building a house, you'd need to own the land free and clear first. That was the story a few years back and things may have changed some.

Personally, I'd attempt to try to buy a building of the size and location you want. Of course there will be leases as you've found but I'm guessing there will be some owners wanting to sell. Just moving stuff fit into 6000sqft is going to be a very large task especially if you have any heavy machinery. You also need to think a few years down the road, you probably will want to retire someday, and you might need to sell your own property eventually. So you want to avoid building such a custom thing in a remote location that will be hard to sell.

I'd even check into a situation in farmland where there was a seller interested in splitting the building area from the fields (sometimes farms get combined like this, and don't want two building areas to maintain).

I would personally look at clear span metal buildings from someone like Nucor, etc. They have some nice options like higher pitched roofs and overhangs to make it look more traditional. You could build a 50 x 200 building, or also consider something like two 50x100s that face each other and share a parking lot. It might make sense to split various aspects of the business apart in that manner. I think you are going to be into $30-$50/sf for the building itself, turnkey.

 

[BillK]

SMF,

1. I know you have stated differently, but I would talk to a real estate agent or your town and find out what types of uses are allowed on different types of properties. It would be a shame to spend a lot of time finding a property and then finding out you cant use it for what you want to do.

2. You might want to look at existing buildings that might be available for lease with an option to buy.

3. If you do build consider making the building a lot bigger than what you need and renting out part of it to help with the payments. I know someone in my area with a business similar to yours and when he built his building 25 years ago he did exactly that. He is not ashamed to tell you that his tenants have basically paid for the building

4. Consider the future. Somewhere along the line you may want to retire or lay back a little. At that time will your location make it hard to either lease or sell your business ?

Just a few things to think about. I am sure there will be other suggestions.