What to do with a vacant commercial space downstairs in a 5 plex?

[Chris Collins]

I'm looking at a 5 unit building in Kentucky.  4 apartments upstairs, and a commercial space downstairs which is vacant.

What do you do with a vacant commercial space? 

Place an ad on craigslist? Put a simple 'for lease' sign on it? 

I've never worked with a commercial tenant, let's say a coffee shop wants to go in there, am I supposed to provide anything for the tenant other than an empty space with working utilities?  Do they come in with a 5 year lease and provide all their own equipment, furniture etc. just like an apt?

Just looking for some general insight here.  Seems like a great idea to have a mixed use building to help pay the mortgage... 

thanks

 x CHRIS x

[Kathy Henley]

@Chris Collins  Time to meet a commercial leasing agent.  Commercial success is all about people, is this property located in an area where people want to be? Certainly your residential tenants would love a food place.  Best to reach out to a few leasing agents and ask them to evaluate the space with you.  They will give you the market rates and help you evaluated the income that the space could generate, depending on size and zoning rules. You can deliver the space 'vanilla ready' to the leasing agents to fill, or wait for a perspective tenant and share in the expense of build-out of the space to accommodate the needs of the tenant. Your expenses for the latter would be spread over the lease term as a bump in the rent.  Talk with a commercial property manager in the Kentucky area, as if you were a perspective client, to understand the expectations of Lessee's for the location.  Here in California, commercial Tenants will be paying for all utilities and upkeep of their space and sometimes a portion of the landscaping, security, pest and exterior building maintenance.  It reflects in higher rent.  In general, everything is negotiable.