Hey Ken, apololgies for my lack of clear communication. Yes, I saw it was your friend's place... just comment that this is definitely a go-fer!

I thought perhaps your friend was thinking about divvying it up, but you were asking if that's something I would do with it. The answer is a resounding YES!

I have seen quite a bit of underutilitized commercial space. The trick is if you can divide it up cost effectively. I had a large older building under contract that was owned by a mechanic who used it for his own business. A lot of it was just empty space, and it had a really cool vibe close to our downtown and was literally ON old Route-66. What better place for a car shop / old timey retail establishment? The plan was to turn it into 5 separate units, with a retail shop up front (it had large, beautiful glass display windows) and have auto-shops /hobbyist shops in the rear. Plenty of parking. Fenced. Cheap... only $300,000 for 5,800 square feet!

But, it needed a roof (had a quote for $30,000), and if we were going to separate the electric and plumbing to all new meters and service heads, the bid we got ranged from $40,000 - $80,000 for the electrical and $25,000 minimum for plumbing, depending on what code upgrades the city required from us. Come to find they would probably want us to upgrade all plumbing to include sprinkler systems... add another $20,000. Then there was the question of would they require architects drawing and/or firewalls? Possibly add another $50,000 to get all that plus add the divider doors and walls.

We soon found that the uncertainty of it made this "deal" turn sour. Fortunately, we were still in the due diligence phase of the purchase, so we let that one go. It's best used as an owner-operator site, unless someone is willing to pour way more money into it than I am. Maybe someone will, then they'll get tired of it a few years from now and I can revisit it after someone else has done all the work. It's near one of my other shops so I drive past it about once a month.

Newer construction (1990s and newer) is where I'm at now, because most of that is still up to current commercial code and/or is much easier to modify. It costs a bit more initially, but if I can find ways to subdivide and/or rent out unused land, that's where the money is to be made. You may recall I bought a 6-unit auto shop with 12 overhead doors and 6 offices that had an extra acre of land that I rent as outdoor parking and/or equipment storage. Getting about $1,600 in added rent for vacant land that the previous owner didn't consider when pricing the place.