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This would be a leased, shared property.
The asking price is $10/sf, which includes all costs (taxes, building insurance, etc.) except metered utilities.
Costs relative to our current location:
No rental income.
What else?
Savings relative to our current location:
No need to pay for building insurance. [We still need content and liability insurance.]
No depreciation on the building.
No taxes on the rented part of the building.
What else?
The building:
Fairly heavy wood construction.
Three stories plus a basement:
Basement: a small company which makes golf clubs.
Ground floor: a printer.
Second floor: a 4 Ksf space and a 3Ksf space, both vacant, plus two bathrooms (which need some renovation) in a common area.
Third floor: vacant.
Freight elevator and loading dock at the rear.
The freight elevator appears capable of handling a pallet plus pallet jack, or 7' pipe laid flat. [Measurements needed.]
The loading dock is capable of handling a semi, but is awkwardly designed -- it's a long, narrow, unprotected and minimally lit platform extending out from the building, with the truck parking at the far end. Next to it is a bay for a lower than standard height ("UPS") truck.
We're looking at the 4 Ksf space on the second floor.
Divided into two large rectangular rooms (about 1000 sf in front and about 2500 sf toward the rear) with three small offices (130 sf, 125 sf, and 85 sf) at the far rear. The floor of the front room is 1-2" higher than that of the 2500 sf room, with a small ramp at the door connecting those rooms.
All of this space has 9' 5" dropped ceilings.
The 1000 sf room has two pillars, a 2' x 6' counter with cabinets and a sink in one corner, 5 windows on two walls, a door to an outside metal staircase (which can be opened from the outside), a double door leading to the 2500 sf room, and a single door leading to the shared bathrooms and the front stairs. Lighting is 14 apparently 4x4' tube fixtures set into the ceiling, providing about 2.25 W/sf (about 75% of the intensity in our current meeting room). This room is just about the same size as our current meeting room, so if we plan to use it in that role not all of the stuff we want to go into it will fit.
The 2500 sf room has two rows of pillars running along its long dimension (one row of 6 and one row of 3), 3 windows along one wall, a double door leading to the front room, three single doors at the rear for the offices, and a double door near the rear leading to the freight elevator. Lighting is three rows of 8 double 8' fixtures mounted on the ceiling, providing about 1.5 W/sf (about 50% of the intensity in our current meeting room).
The three offices each have 2 apparently 4x4' tube fixtures set into the ceiling. One of the larger ones has an outside window; the small one has a sliding window opening into the 2500 sf room.
All windows appear to be openable, except for the one next to the outside door which has heavy metal mesh over it.
It's a bit battered; we'd need to spend perhaps $5K fixing it up before moving in.
No number is known for the maximum safe floor loading, but a previous tenant of our space was storing "submarine parts" -- which apparently included largish chunks of steel. The owners didn't seem worried by the idea of us stacking books to the ceiling.
Freight elevator:
The load limit is 2000 pounds.
It has a '24 hour service' label on it.
It's the type where if someone leaves the door open, it won't come when called.
The second-floor entrance is a short straight run from the double doors in the 2500 sf room.
On the ground floor, the elevator opens on the side of a short corridor to the loading dock.
The elevator is about 6' wide, 7' tall, and 9' long. The doors to it are about 6' wide and 7' tall. The corridor to the loading dock is about 6' wide. [More / better measurements needed!]
Emergencies:
There are sprinkler heads throughout our space.
The only exits other than the freight elevator are at the front of the building -- the inside stairs in the common area and the outside stair connecting to the front room. [Will this be a problem getting an occupancy permit?]
I didn't see any emergency lighting.
Utilities:
All electric meters for the building are located inside the door to the loading dock (ours is the leftmost one in the upper row), as are all of the main circuit breakers. There is a subpanel on one of the pillars in the 2500 sf room (the one nearest the front room) with 17 circuits installed and room for two dozen more. The main disconnect for our space is a dual 100A circuit breaker. There's an additional single circuit breaker in that box the purpose of which is not known to us. [We should ask.]
Heating and airconditioning are controlled independently from the rest of the building. They are provided through vents in the ceiling. There is a single thermostat in the 1000 sf room next to the door connecting to the 2500 sf room.
Several telephone drops connect to a '66' block (or possibly a '110' block) in the 2500 sf room next to the door to the front room.
Parking: ample in off-hours. [Find out about during 'business hours'.]
External lighting:
At 12:30 am on a Tuesday there was no external lighting visible at all, except for streetlights on Newton Street and two streetlights on the small street that runs alongside the building. Despite a full moon and a cloudless sky, it was pretty dark along the front of the building and in the parking area behind it. [There's another streetlight which should have illuminated the parking area -- check it again.]
The owners are willing to install something suitable.
Area:
Just south of the Charles River and a few blocks east of Moody Street.
Mixed residential and light industrial (at least as 'good' as where we are now).
Food:
There are a sub / pizza shop, a small restaurant, and a larger restaurant all within 100 yards of the building. Quality is unknown.
There are many restaurants on Moody Street; miminum distance: .4 mile (along Pine Street)
Post Office:
Main branch: .9 mile (via Elm Street and Main Street)
Small branch on Spruce Street: .5 mile (via Pine Street and Moody Street)
Access by car:
2.3 miles (7 minutes) from the Route 128 / Route 20 interchange via Route 20, Vernon Street, Charles Street, Elm Street, and bits of connecting streets
2.7 miles (9 minutes) from the Route 128 / Route 20 interchange via Route 20 and Newton Street
3.7 miles (7 minutes) from Route 30 (near the Route 128 / Mass. 'Pike interchange) via South Street, bits of connecting streets (turn right just before the hospital and right again just after the STOP sign), Prospect Street / Maple Street / High Street and Newton Street
[Timings taken early- to mid-afternoon on a weekday.]
"T" access (evening and weekend):
Distance to Waltham Central Square (commuter rail and busses): .5 mile (along Elm Street)
Distance to Main Street (additional access to busses 70 & 70A): .5 mile (along Newton Street)
High-speed Internet access:
We should be able to get some form of DSL, since we're reportedly within about 6Kft of the telephone central office which definitely is wired for DSL by several providers.
There are two cable companies in the area (AT&T Broadband and RCN) so cable should be an option if they're willing to deal with a 501(c)3 organization.
The freight elevator is small and the turn into the corridor to the loading dock is awkward.
The loading dock has a relatively steep ramp at the far end (where the truck parks), is rather dilapidated, and is narrow -- each of which is enough to make moving loads along it painful.
Access to the second floor is not good. There are only a steep interior staircase and an open metal outside staircase. These are especially unfriendly to children (and bicyclists).
There are no emergency exits from the rear part of our space. If something happened at the extreme front of the building, there'd be no way out short of jumping out a window.
If we upgraded the lighting throughout our space to the 3 W/sf of our current meeting room (when fully lit) we would have to upgrade our service from the present 100A and would probably have to replace the wiring from the electric meter and main disconnect (by the loading dock) to the subpanel in our space to handle the increased load.
Unanswered questions and unresolved issues (ordered by decreasing importance)
Generate an accurate layout of the space, including doors, windows, pillars, ceiling height and any other interesting features. Also power outlets, phone drops, lights and switches, thermostats, heating and cooling vents and returns, heating and cooling units, etc.
Take a quick look above the dropped ceiling. Do the internal partitions extend above it?
Take a quick look at the lighting fixtures. How many bulbs do they hold? Of what maximum wattage?
If any HVAC plant breaks down, how quickly will it be fixed? Who pays any extra charges for fast / emergency service?
In what condition is the freight elevator and how quickly will it be repaired if it breaks at a critical time? Who pays any extra charges for after hours / emergency service?
What, if any, rules about handicapped access apply to us? Is this space compliant?
Is there a sprinkler (or other fire suppression) system throughout the building? Do any other tenants engage in 'dangerous' activities?
We need independent 24x7 access for each of 30-35 people.
What exactly are the 'metered utilities' which are the only costs not included in the rent? [Electricity, water, what else?]
What's the term of the lease? What are the penalty clauses for breaking it? Are there escalation clauses? Provisions for extension?
If the building, for any reason, is unusable for an extended period and we need to rent emergency space at some astronomical rate, who pays the difference?
Has the space been empty long? If so, why?
Electrical details:
Are there light switches in all the places where we need them?
Are there enough suitably placed outlets on enough different circuits?
How is lighting, etc., handled for common areas? [Hallways, stairwells, freight elevator and loading dock, bathrooms.]
HVAC details:
Do we have 24x7 access to unrestricted heating and cooling?
What's the age and condition of the HVAC plant?
How is heating and cooling handled for common areas? Is it available outside 'normal' hours? Is it available during 'normal' hours?
Are there telephone and network drops where we need them?
What limits, other than cost, are there on refitting the space to suit us?
Must we use landlord-approved contractors?
May we do the work ourselves?
Does the landlord have to approve the work in advance? Inspect it afterward? At what level of detail?
At lease end, will we have to rip out any changes we've made? Who pays?
Things we might want to do:
Attach things (e.g., bookcases, bulletin boards) to the structure
Add or modify telephone or network wiring
Add or modify electrical circuits (power outlets or lighting)
Remove part or all of the wall separating the 1000 sf space and the 2500 sf space
How is trash disposal handled? What are the limits on the amount or type of trash we can dump?
Is electricity available for supplemental lighting at the loading dock (e.g., inside a truck)?
What is the protocol for sharing the loading dock? Is it compatible with our occasional need to keep a truck there for several hours in the evening or on a weekend?
Are there any predictable events (annual fairs, parade routes, etc) that would interfere with access or parking?
What effect does this location have on our insurance rates?
Where is the nearest fire hydrant? The nearest fire station?
Is there any place to park a couple of bicycles that doesn't come out of our interior space?
Is an outside rack acceptable to the bicyclists? To the landlord?
Both sets of stairs look to be bicycle-unfriendly.
Who is responsible for snow removal?
Who is responsible for cleaning the common areas? How often is it done?
Is a cleaning service available for our space? How much would it cost?
How are parking spaces allocated?
Is it possible to park a truck for a day or two?
Is it possible to park a car for a day or two (or a week or two) while its owner is driving a truck?
How is mail delivery handled?
Is there someone who can receive occasional shipments for us during 'normal' hours?
Is there a doorbell that sounds in our space?
Can we work at off-hours in the parking lot behind the building for, e.g., bookcase-building sessions?
Are there any signs of water damage, infestations, asbestos, lead paint, etc?
This page is maintained by Dave Anderson, and was last modified at 10:45 am on 5 June 2003.
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