How Customization Has Evolved the Industrial Real Estate Market

Shifts in industrial real estate are giving businesses more options than ever before. Gone are the days of moving into a generic warehouse and adapting your processes to the building. Built-to-suit facilities contribute to a company’s unique needs, enabling design features to optimize the overall productivity of a facility.

Pad Ready Sites

A site is considered pad ready when the ground is prepped prior to the start of the project. Then, once the custom plans are finalized, concrete can be poured. Pad ready sites can shave as much as three months off the project timeline.

Planning Process

The planning process is crucial in keeping your custom industrial real estate project on time and under budget. By understanding your business upfront, the developer translates your unique needs and components prior to the start of development. Once the plan is created, it is a much faster and cost effective process to get the space built to meet expectations.

Customization for the Future

Supply chains change quickly – committing to a building today for the next ten years can be intimidating and stressful . Some businesses are hesitant to create a facility that will meet their needs today when they aren’t sure what the future holds.

Future proof your build-to-suit by exploring expansion opportunities. There are several options that can be customized to your unique needs.

Two of the most popular methods are:

• Build larger than needed and lease extra space: if your current supply chain needs require a 700k square foot building and you expect to need another 100k square feet every three years, build a one million square foot building and lease the extra space. This model will also give you the benefit of shared management and labor.
• Build for current space requirements and develop expansion if needed: if you do not want to be in a shared space, this model is for you. Your build-to-suit includes additional land to conveniently expand your current building. Having extra land readily available will alleviate the worry of outgrowing a custom facility.

Location

Finding the perfect location is easier now that there are customizable options available. Companies no longer have to worry about moving in to a pre-existing facility in a location that may not be ideal. Instead, companies can customize their location by conducting a supply chain analysis using technology to analyze the most optimized location. In the past it was common for companies to choose facilities in rural areas where the land and taxes may have seemed enticing. Now, using technology, companies are choosing to locate closer to urban hubs where they have access to highways, labor, and lower freight costs.

Sustainability

With the shift towards customization, businesses can develop their facility to meet their sustainability initiatives. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is at the forefront of sustainability, awarding certifications for meeting or exceeding standards in design, construction, operation, and maintenance of sustainable buildings¹. LEED certification has been a popular topic among businesses, but many opt to build to LEED standards and not obtain the certification due to the time and financial commitment associated with the certification process.

Having a choice in industrial real estate can make all the difference to a successful business. A customized facility has proven to give companies the greatest use of their time and money. They eventually also see a growth in productivity as their unique set-ups and use of space are personalized to their processes.