Where to start in building my own business warehouse?
I've recently moved into a 5000sqft warehouse/office with a pretty nice buildout we're quite happy with. We're already starting to outgrow it, and while I'm sure we'll be fine for at least a year, it's becoming much more attractive into owning our own space

I noticed a building that looks quite similar to mine being built across the street. After inquiring, it turns out that it's one of the LL's currents tenants outgrowing their current space and deciding to build their own. And so I thought.... why can't I do that?

What does the process look like? Do I need to partner with a RE developer? Is my complete ignorance of the space going to force me to pay a large markup since I don't know how to properly evaluate costs?
[{"id": "h04ltxt", "text": "Best option is to partner. Costs are exorbitantly high on both ends due to warehouse demand and construction pricing because of steel/wood shortages. How much space do you need and when do you need it? Are you in or near a primary market? \n\nIf you find a partner that\u2019s already developing a building you could be an attractive partner if you connect without a broker because then the developer wouldn\u2019t need to pay a leasing commission. But if you only need like say 10K square feet it might be a drop in the bucket and will likely be a co-tenant in a multi tenant building. If you need say like 50K square feet or more you can potentially find a developer that would do a build to suit for you.\n\nWhat might be are better option is to find a vacant building in the size range you\u2019re looking for and find a partner that would be willing to coinvest with you. In this market there\u2019s probably a reason why a building would be vacant but if your partner would be willing to put up money to refurbish an older building up to standard for your business.\n\nMost investors/sellers love opportunities where they don\u2019t have to pay any broker commissions and investors would love to find an opportunity where they don\u2019t have to pay a commission on the purchase and a long term lease with your company. If there\u2019s a regional constraint for your business, what I would do is pull a zoning map in the county or counties where would be suitable for your business. Find the regions that are zoned the same use as the current building you occupy. Then go on google maps and see if any tenants occupy those buildings and go out and drive them yourself to see if any are vacant. Even non vacant buildings you can talk to the landlords and see if they are expecting the tenant to leave. Maybe those landlords may be willing to partner with you. But if it is a small need like say 10K square feet it may be too small of a deal to find a partner interested enough because there\u2019s just a lot of legal fees to form such a partnership and would not make it worth it on a deal that small.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "h05c4x9", "text": "You don't want to build a building.  You want someone to build a building for you.  (Trust me).\n\nOr, you want to buy an existing (larger) one, or lease an existing (larger) one.\n\nIf you buy, get one 3 or 4 times larger than you need.  (You'll thank me in 10 years).", "replies": [{"id": "h05gdyf", "text": "Do you have any idea what business he is in? Any idea of his financials? This is why you can\u2019t take advice on the internet, you\u2019re making a blanket statement and acknowledging that you\u2019re right before having any supporting facts for your statement. What works for your market, doesn\u2019t universally apply to others.\n\nAlso, building something from scratch for your needs is better than buying one. You get to design it to fit your business\u2019 needs. How much will he be putting into the building to adjust it to his companies needs? $0-$1m you have no idea based on the information that was provided. Everything comes down to each companies needs, they are all different.", "replies": [{"id": "h06iwfc", "text": "I don't.\n\nI presumed any readers of any comments would have read from his post \"*growing faster\"*...that he was, with the limited information provided, successful enough to at least acquire a building larger than his current needs, otherwise, he would not have alluded to same.\n\nFurther reading in to his comment regards finding others had built or are building a building of similar nature....asking *\"how does one do that?\".*..it became rapidly clear that he doesn't know anything about building buildings, specifically large industrial ones.\n\nI further deduced from that that he makes great widgets but, has absolutely no concept of how to locate, develop or finance the construction of a large industrial building.\n\nTherefore, he should not.\n\nHe believes he can afford to build a building, and he makes fine widgets that are apparently in great demand.\n\nFor the sake of this forum and time, I take him at his word, as it was a simple question (apparently more complicated for some). I also presume that he is capable of doing basic math.\n\nSo again OP, if you are interested in expanding your footprint, do not try to do it yourself.  Stick to making great widgets.  It's what led you to be in the position of asking this question today.\n\nTo make a further continuation of the original answer I gave a bit more obvious for some.....if you have already outgrown your now current 5,000 sf space (as in \"*recently moved into space*\"...I assume, possibly errently that this means \"*in the last 1 - 3 years*\" which seems like a remarkably short period within which to outgrow space, which further indicates, he's either printing currency or, has a fairly skyrocketing business, further indicating he may be in the same precise predicament in the next 1 - 3 years once again, having already failed to be prescient enough to forecast his space needs in such a short term of residency in his current space...a somewhat excellent problem to have, in the short term.  That is also quite clear in his post).\n\nSpeaking to the OP now;  I would encourage you strongly to plan out your space needs and make them larger by several factors, the presumption of course, is if you can afford to do so, if you can find land near appropriate freeways where applicable or needed as well as 39 other important criteria required to make a valid decision on current and future space needs....I presume also in my original response that you're capable of making these deductions and decisions, with information you uniquely possess.\n\nThe reason for this larger than needed expansion in your next building should be obvious enough, but if it's not, it's for the further growth of your business, as well as allowing access to similar needs of other businesses (tenants) wherein which for a nominal charge to your bottom line and debt load, you, in 10 years will have a building that can either support additional growth for you, or provide income from a building which will have grown in value, with renewed ability to produce income for you should you opt to stop making widgets.\n\n(Hopefully this helps clarify for others what was intended).\n\nOP...go make more widgets, find a great developer for your needs.  If you want to get in the developing business, do it on your *next* building.  Use this opportunity to expand your current business, while watching someone else do the developing parts.\n\nIf you're going to build something for a rapidly growing business, you'll be anchored to it. If you grow as fast as you currently grow, you *will* need more space.\n\nThe truly best advice would be to find someone to lease a far larger building from until you can more accurately project your growth and physical plant needs.  However, if you're going to own your building....make it larger by several factors (within the obvious limitations of your finances).", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}, {"id": "h05h10e", "text": "\u201cSpend 3-4 times what\u2019s you need for 10 years\u201d", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}]