Warehouse developers - anyone price out steel vs precast concrete buildings lately? What's the price difference?
I'm planning a flex space warehouse development. Most of the competition is putting up metal buildings for smaller structures like mine. The mega distribution warehouses all seem like precast. I'm getting quotes around 20-25$ for the building and steel erection - (15k sq ft). I'm working on the precast quotes now.

No matter what you do, I still think the metal buildings look industrial and look like crap after a few decades. Some of these precast buildings look really sharp, with all the architectural details already cast into the concrete. 

The higher the curb appeal, the higher the rent I can get and the wider potential renter pool. There are certain businesses that will never go into a steel buildings - too industrial looking for them. So it might be worth it to pay more for precast.  

Has anyone priced the difference between steel and precast (or tilt up) for a warehouse project lately?
[{"id": "j0fwtj1", "text": "I have been exploring this question lately but don\u2019t have the numbers to conclude.", "replies": [{"id": "j0fyzun", "text": "What type of project are you working on?", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "j0fz7ll", "text": "I know tilt up tends to be more viable at larger Sq footage. We looked at it a few years ago and found steel was better for our use (body shop -18k sf) but always thought that would be a very modern way to approach a build and maybe save some money.", "replies": [{"id": "j0fzkeo", "text": "Out of curiosity, what did that metal building project end up costing?", "replies": [{"id": "j0g0ngg", "text": "It\u2019s been a while since we ran numbers on it and ultimately our buyer backed out due to some internal thing. Wanna say whole project was near $3mm?", "replies": [{"id": "j0g0nsp", "text": "Not including land", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "j0g2h7n", "text": "I am pricing both out for a project currently. Can give some more specifics after the first of the year.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "j0g4sp8", "text": "The degree of difference will depend on which part of the country you\u2019re in, but precast will be your most expensive, tilt up will be second, and metal building will be the cheapest.\n\nAll have pros and cons depending on size, schedule, and overall goals for the building. \n\nWhat\u2019s your SF? I\u2019ve been doing these for a long time if you have any other questions.", "replies": [{"id": "j0i7jnc", "text": "15k sq ft, simple rectangle and I'm in FL. \nThe zoning/permitting people are not too excited about metal buildings in prime locations. I've seen some places require masonry structures or a masonry front facing part of the building to help with aesthetics.\n\nAny chance you can give me a theoretical relative cost for precast/tilt up/metal?", "replies": [{"id": "j0o4rxz", "text": "Tilt up in Florida seems like the way it\u2019s normally done, but not sure at this size?", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "j0gfofl", "text": "From what my GC friends are saying, currently the price gap is so minimal, due to the cost materials all having increased disproportionally the last few years, that you\u2019re better off going with a masonry building and getting the long term benefits you mentioned above.  There\u2019s no reason to build a steel building at this time, at these prices of materials.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "j0gh2t1", "text": "Historically speaking, metal buildings are by far the cheapest to build, however Steel pricing has been nuts the last 2-3 years.  It\u2019s come down considerably over the last six months to more of its historical range, so pricing on metal buildings will probably come back down over the next 6-12 months.\n\nOn a building your size (I\u2019m assuming one story), pre-cast or tilt Is probably going to be cost prohibitive as you really start to see those costs start to become competitive around 60k SF.  At the smaller sizes it\u2019s really metal building, a masonry (CMU), or stick built with metal studs building that will be your best  bets cost wise.  \n\nI also want to mention - you can make a metal building look better, it just costs more.  Take Costco for instance - it\u2019s a metal building with some CMU and EIFS and it looks better than most.", "replies": [{"id": "j0gynvw", "text": "Metal buildings are more challenging to get financing on.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "j0gzxrh", "text": "At the size you\u2019re stating, steel is usually more cost effective, usually doesn\u2019t make sense till you hit the 30-50k sq ft mark to go tilt up. That said, I\u2019d either go cmu or a higher end SIP, for longer term value and maintenance.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]