Ideas for 1,000 sq ft shop in a residential area.

[Jordan Filbrun]

I bought a duplex in a city and it has a 1,000 sq ft metal shop on one side. It's insulated, concrete floor, full bathroom, garage door, utility sink, heater. It's in a great location for our city but its basically in my tenants backyard. I do need to be thoughtful about who I place there and the hours they keep. Not to mention the city has requirements for how many walk up customers throughout the day etc. I was thinking it would be perfect for a painter, plumber, electrician, landscaper, etc. They work 7-6 roughly and would mainly use the place for storage and parking and office space. I have had some bites but so far no one is a great fit. I have posted it for storage space too. I also thought it could be made into a 1 or 2 bedroom as well but that would require about $20,000 worth of work and I absolutely do not have the cash for that at this point. Are there any outside the box ideas?

[Account Closed]

Originally posted by @Jordan Filbrun:

I bought a duplex in a city and it has a 1,000 sq ft metal shop on one side. It's insulated, concrete floor, full bathroom, garage door, utility sink, heater. It's in a great location for our city but its basically in my tenants backyard. I do need to be thoughtful about who I place there and the hours they keep. Not to mention the city has requirements for how many walk up customers throughout the day etc. I was thinking it would be perfect for a painter, plumber, electrician, landscaper, etc. They work 7-6 roughly and would mainly use the place for storage and parking and office space. I have had some bites but so far no one is a great fit. I have posted it for storage space too. I also thought it could be made into a 1 or 2 bedroom as well but that would require about $20,000 worth of work and I absolutely do not have the cash for that at this point. Are there any outside the box ideas?

I have something similar, I'm rehabbing a 4 bed 2 bath house in Phoenix (and updating everything). There is also a shop that is 24' X 40 ' sq ft with RV gate - the shop was used for auto repair and has HVAC, bath, electricity etc. which is very hard to find in the city.

I plan on selling it as "Huge Shop/Apartment that has a House" - the shop can be converted to an ADU that would get about $1,500 a month or be used by a tradesman, or could be used for BRRR or converted for AirBnB.

It would be great for a California investor who wants two properties for the price of one or for someone who wants to live rent free - renting out the apartment/shop wold cover their mortgage cost. It would be great for someone who does woodworking, automotive, upholstery, plumbing or electrical contractor or someone who does counseling, or cabinetry. I'm guessing it will be snapped up by some savvy investor from CA or AZ.

Try posting it as a business opportunity, an investment opportunity, an -inlaw unit, we call them "Casitas" in this neck of the woods, classic car storage, garage band space and on and on.

[Daniel Pitner]

@Mike M. I love this idea. I'm actually in the Phoenix area and looking for a house where I can convert the garage into an ADU as a house hack. What side of town is your property on?

[Account Closed]

Originally posted by @Daniel Pitner:

@Mike M. I love this idea. I'm actually in the Phoenix area and looking for a house where I can convert the garage into an ADU as a house hack. What side of town is your property on?

 It's at about W Myrtle Ave and 23rd Ave in Phoenix. There is a landing pad large enough for an RV and an RV Gate with alley entrance.

It's a beautiful thing.

[John Teachout]

I think packaging the residential portion with the shop and finding a tenant that needs both would be your best option. A small service company such as plumbing, HVAC or electrical would likely be a great fit for this. They need space to operate out of but don't actually do much other than put things in and out as required.

[Jordan Filbrun]

@John Teachout I was going for that initially but the tenants we have are great and I dont want to lose them. Plus I will potentially make more if both are rented separate. Its also much harder to find a small business owner who wants to rent a duplex too. 

[John Teachout]

One thing to think about when finding a tenant is what they might put down the drains or may soak into the soil. You don't want a drain plugged with dried paint or get complaints from the city about motor oil or solvents getting into the sewer system. Can the building be utilized without cramping the existing tenants? ie, would they have to park differently to not block access? Can delivery trucks easily access the property? (maybe even semi trucks?)

How is the property zoned? Does it have a commercial or mixed use designation?

What about utilities? Does it have a separate water meter? Separate electric meter? If not, how does that get handled?

I'm pretty sure there's a way to use this building to generate some additional income but you want to consider all the pros and cons before putting yourself in a situation you  wish you hadn't.

Do your duplex tenants utilize a storage space somewhere? If so, you may consider dividing up the building and renting space to them. Maybe they'd pay $50 per month to have their "stuff" nearby.

If you rent out the whole building, how much do you think it would/should bring? $200?

[Colleen F.]

Metal work or welding shop.  Work is custom, need large spaces.  Custom wood shop, again needs space  and not much foot traffic. Does it have 220 outlet? Sufficient electric for shop use?    I would also consider what kind of vehicle traffic you get for some service industries. 

[Jordan Filbrun]

@John Teachout I had a lot of bites between 750-800 but they either weren't a good fit for the location or found something else that worked better for their needs. I don't think its zoned for mixed use. The property is zoned multifamily so I could potentially turn it into another unit but that would require significant investment at this point to get that legally ready. I don't want to rent it to someone as a livable space as it is right now. 

[Matthew Labaza]

@Jordan Filbrun - did you ever end up finding a good fit for your property?  

I have a similar situation, have ~1200 sqft of attached space to a duplex that is zoned multifamily but not commercial. Have been using the space as a garage for some of my toys, but want to think longer-term about what would be the best ROI.