Leasing an Office, Flex, Industrial, or Warehouse Space Can Be So Confusing

What is an Office Space?

Commercial real estate office space includes multi-tenant buildings, single-tenant buildings, small and large professional buildings, skyscrapers, and everything in between. Office space is a room or rooms in a one-story or multi-story building that provides a suitable office operation environment. Office spaces are the most common commercial space leased with a shared lobby area, hallways, elevators, and bathrooms.  

JW Management’s office spaces are in single-story buildings, which only take accessing 1-2 doors to get to your desk. Office space can be full-service or flex office spaces, depending on your business needs. The office spaces range from 500 square feet to over 10,000 square feet. Commercial office space is a perfect fit for businesses that need a physical location to assist walk-in customers, clients, and house employees that work in an office.

What is a Flex Space? 

A Flex Space from the word ‘flexible,’ is a single-story building with multiple units designed to give tenants flexibility in usage. It is a type of industrial space that also has an office space built out inside the building. However, Flex spaces have a slightly lower ceiling clear height (14 – 18 ft clear ceiling height) compared to a warehouse space. Usually, flex spaces only have windows at the front of the building. Some spaces also include docks and loading areas in the back with overhead doors. Flex Office Spaces usually will have open industrial concept ceilings or 9-foot drop ceilings.  

Flex spaces can be 100% office space or a combination of office and warehouse space. If your business needs flexible office space or both office and warehouse space, it is wise to consider leasing a Flex space.

What is a Warehouse Space?

Warehouse Space is a one-story commercial building with storage space for pallet racks. It will usually have a minimum 14-foot clear ceiling height and at least one dock to load and unload goods from large trucks. Warehouse spaces are mostly used to store inventory or as a distribution or service center. The distribution or service center can store, pack, and ship goods. Usually, the front of the warehouse is built out for general office requirements, such as showrooms, conference rooms, break areas, and offices.   

Nowadays, some businesses prefer converting warehouses into office space to give them more room for creativity. Warehouses are not just for industrial or storage use any longer. They offer flexible warehouse space in an open industrial office environment. Many businesses prefer the high ceilings in order to create mini video recording studios of their products and or services to update their social media vlogs and websites. 

What is an Industrial Space?

Industrial space is commonly used to identify a building used for light, medium, or heavy manufacturing, production or fabrication of goods, assembling goods and products, as well as conducting meetings. An industrial space is usually where the business operates, so it often has a mixture of office space, as well as manufacturing or warehousing space.  

Warehouse and Industrial spaces often look alike; that’s why they can be mistaken for one another. The only way to tell the difference is to call the leasing company to see if the space is right for your business application. Can the industrial space be used for light manufacturing or distribution? Will a large portion of the space be used for offices or just the front entrance area? Can the commercial space be used for research and development? Depending on your answer to these questions, you will be able to determine whether an industrial or warehouse space is right for your business. 

What is a Retail Office Space?