TI 101 is a blog series about typical TI projects. In this installment I’ll be telling you about the basics of Industrial TI projects. What you need to know about Industrial TI basics:

Building Type

Industrial buildings are large buildings used for a variety of storage and manufactuing purposes.

Industrial buildings are one of the primary asset classes. You can pick out industrial buildings because of their large scale, even for small projects. They will have lots of floor space and large open expanses since they prioritize efficient use of square footage. They can range in size from less than 100,000 square feet to well over 1,000,000 square feet.

Industrial buildings can be used for:

• Warehousing space
• Manufacturing space
• Cold storage
• Data centers
• Flex buildings (i.e. a mix of office and industrial)
• Logistics hubs

Flex buildings are on the smaller side, while warehousing and logisics hubs are much, much larger. Some industrial buildings are so large they have multiple levels!

You might notice new industrial buildings, even the really enormous ones, are situated in huge planned developments. Older buildings tend to be smaller and you might see them in the middle of established neighborhoods.

I find industrial buildings fascinating for the focus that needs to be paid to the details. When you work on an industrial TI project things like floor flatness and levelness are far more important than on an office project.

Industrial Design and Construction

I don’t often hear people singing the virtues of industrial architectural design. Historically, industrial buildings are purpose built structures meant to house large equipment or lots of materials. You will find wide column spacing and high ceilings. This repetition makes industrial buildings feel rather cookie-cutter to me. But I can admire them for their efficiency.

Historically, industrial buildings were made using lots of wood. As you may guess, wood didn’t work well amongst the spark-flying manufacturing envrionment of the early industrial revolution. Steel construction became the norm along with masonry facades which then gave way to concrete wall sections. Modern industrial buildings are steel framed structures. The exterior walls are concrete panels and the floor is a large concrete slab. The interior construction of offices, break rooms, etc are the same as any office TI project.

You might get to see industrial buildings adapted for other uses, like the Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant in Richmond, CA.

Planning

As I mentioned earlier industrial uses come in different scales, but all are large. Your industrial TI project will consist broadly of two uses: the warehousing or manufacturing space and the office and support spaces. In all but Flex space the warehousing portion will be the dominant space in your lease space (Flex can be up to or even exceed 50/50 office-to-warehouse).

First you’ll start the planning of the warehouse. The warehouse will need to house products or equipment or both. For large warehouses special storage racks need to be ordered and built specifically for the space. Racking should be coordinated and purchased by the Tenant, and you’ll need a separate permit for the installation.

Sorting and distribution facilities will have a need for special equipment to move the Tenant’s product around in the building. This is called Material Handling Equipment (MHE for short). MHE is also tenant provided and also needs special permits. You’ll find that MHE has a massive impact on warehouse layout.

Second will be the office and other support spaces. Usually the office space is minimal and might include some offices, a break room, a locker room, restroom facilties and a conference room.

Other support space you need to consider are: remote restrooms in the warehouse, storage cages, security check in, and a driver’s lounge.

Finally, your TI space could include site work if you have to add additional trailer parking, new access drives, perimeter fencing and gates and security guard houses.

Construction

Similar to other project types, you’ll need Landlord approval prior to commencing construction. By this time it’s likely you’ve gotten pretty detailed with the design so approval should be a formality. Also like other project types, you’ll need to bid most TI projects to mulitple general contractors. Most Landlords will have their favorite contractors, so be sure you coordinate your bidder’s list with them.

Construction is divided into three sections just as planning: warehouse, office/support and site. It’s very common for tenant’s to prioritize the warehouse space first because that is what makes them money. It’s not un-common for tenant’s to phase construction to complete the warehouse as quickly as possible and then follow up with the completion of the office and the site work.

Summary

Industrial projects are seemingly simple and straight forward, but there is a lot of planning and coordination needed. Since these projects tend to be very large you’re likey going to have projects that have lots of square feet. But the actual work tends to be focused on a few key areas.

Next time we talk about Retail TI.