Denver - looking to upgrade laser shop
Hi all!

We own a laser engraving company and are quickly outgrowing our current space. The lease ends in May. We are looking to shop around a bit and hopefully find a company with a large space that isn't being fully utilized. One issue with our current space is that it doesn't even have access to high speed internet - we've had to jerry rig some old school unlimited verizon data plan on wifi hotspot.

On top of that, the building probably isn't up to code to have employees running around for our insurance. There's not really much we can do about fixing up the current space to be compliant with insurance needs. So, having a compliant space would be really really nice - especially as we are growing and actually will need employees.

Anyways, the short of it is that we are quickly expanding and are open to negotiating space and price. We would likely need about 2000 square feet with access to 220V electric for the lasers and a couple of wood shop tools.

From what I've seen for commercial space, most that are available are either much too small or much too big for our needs.

If you have any helpful suggestions, I'd love to hear them as well!

Thanks!
[{"id": "eqxxmma", "text": "What term are you looking for? 5 years or 10 years? How is the business structured, IE sole proprietorship or LLC?  What is your credit like? Are you going to be able to personally guarantee the space? \nHow many employees do you have? How many parking spots will you need? \n\nIs this a retail as well as an industrial use? How much office space do you need? How often do you get deliveries? What kind of sprinkler system will you need for your insurance purposes? Any hazardous chemicals you need to be stored? \n\nIF you are going to be building a wood shop, what kind of ventilation will you require?", "replies": [{"id": "eqy93x2", "text": "2 to 5 year lease would be ideal. \n\nThe business is a 3 person LLC. My credit is excellent, the other two founders not as much. \n\nI'm not entirely sure by what you mean personally guarantee the space, as in if the business dies I pay out the rest of the months on the lease personally? If that's the case, likely not. That's a lot of cash. If I had that much I'd be building out a new spot in  \n\nCurrently we have no employees. We will be starting to hire come winter, however, likely as 1099s with the possibility of w2 based on need. \n\nWe would need 3 parking spots for now with possibly up to 5 or 6 in the future. Honestly we need a truck loading dock more than parking. \n\nThis would be only industrial space. Retail would not be through the shop. \n\nOffice space would be about 500 square feet. Just a room with a few desks and a printer. \n\nI need to look into sprinklers and types. I don't know off the top of my head. \n\nVentilation is basically smoke from lasered wood. A 4\" diameter output that we can rig the lasers too is optimal. We would need 2 for our current lasers and likely another 2 for future lasers. \n\nNo hazardous chemicals. Worst thing we use is goo off.", "replies": [{"id": "eqyd067", "text": "OK, basically you are looking for about 2,500 SF of space with a single dock high and about 500 SF of office. You are going to probably end up in a business park, since they have smaller spaces. \n\nI would check Loopnet and Craigslist for listings. They will need a credit check and a look at three years of your tax information. The lease will be in the LLC name and will likely be for five years, but you can probably ask for three years and a couple five year extensions built into the lease. \n\nYou will not get any tenant improvements, so whatever upgrades you need will be on your own dime. So budget in a couple grand to move everything, a couple grand to build out your existing space. \n\nThat would be the grown up way to do this, and assumes this is your sole job and the sole job of your partners. If this is more of a hobby type thing, sure you can ask around for short term sublease space from another company, but then you are at their mercy. \n\nIf you think your business is going to be growing quite a bit, find a larger business park and they can work with you if you need extra space. \n\nhttps://www.loopnet.com/for-lease/denver-co/industrial/?sk=249f4174f7da666a3a19cea5fe9208db\n\nCheapest rent appears to be something like 68 cents a foot a month, so rent would be like 1.6K plus your triple nets. Never forget the triple nets and CAM charges, they can increase your rent by like 30%. \n\nTry to find a gross deal if you can. Also try to figure out what type of use your business is in, so you can at least know what type of zoning you are looking for. \n\nHere is something, a 2K SF space is only 1K cheaper than a 4k SF space, keep in mind future plans. \n\nhttps://images1.loopnet.com/d2/wSsln49HAu04pnBg-YMqdbXotsIUtTRAZhVHEt40crs/document.pdf\n\nGood luck. It takes about 3-6 months to find the space and move in, so you have plenty of time. Call up some brokers and get on their radar. You want friends before you need them.", "replies": [{"id": "eqykt28", "text": "Good advice! Thank you for the resources. I'll get on this. Thank you again.", "replies": [{"id": "eqyqeta", "text": "Good luck. If you have questions on your lease, feel free to ask them. Everything is somewhat negotiable and having an understanding of what everything means is important.", "replies": [], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}]