Evaluating Industrial Buildings — A Practical Checklist

Site and Access

Before you even walk inside, evaluate the site:

Truck court depth. Measure or ask for the truck court dimensions on the dock side of the building. Standard 53-foot trailers need at least 130 feet of depth to safely maneuver. Some sites — particularly infill industrial in tight urban areas — fall short of this and can create real operational problems.

Site circulation. How do trucks enter and exit the property? Is there a separate entrance for employees and visitors vs. trucks? Shared circulation creates congestion and safety hazards. Evaluate the turning radius for each of your trucks/vehicles at the entry and throughout the site.

Secured yard. If you need outdoor storage — trailers, containers, equipment, inventory — does the site have secured yard space? Is it paved? How is access controlled? Confirm this is permitted under the property's zoning.

Parking. Is there adequate employee and visitor parking, clearly separated from truck traffic?

Signage visibility. For distribution businesses that receive frequent vendor or customer visits, site visibility and address clarity matter more than people expect.

Building Shell and Structure

Clear height. Confirm the clear height to the lowest obstruction — not to the roof deck, not to the peak, but to the lowest beam or sprinkler head. Verify it yourself with a measuring tape or ask for a certified survey. Add 18 to 24 inches of clearance above your highest rack beam for sprinkler deflection requirements.

Column spacing. Measure column bays. Standard is 40 to 50 feet; modern distribution buildings often run 52 feet or wider. Narrow column spacing forces you to plan your racking around the columns — which can mean fewer usable rows and wasted space.

Floor flatness and condition. Walk the floor. Look for cracks, heaving, settlement, or patched areas that might indicate ongoing slab issues. Ask for any available floor flatness survey (FF/FL numbers). For forklift-intensive operations — especially narrow-aisle or very narrow-aisle racking — floor flatness is critical to safe equipment operation.

Floor load capacity. What is the floor's load rating in pounds per square foot? Standard warehouse floors run 5,000 to 7,000 PSF. Heavy manufacturing, bulk storage, or dense racking systems may require higher ratings. Verify the actual spec before assuming the floor can handle your operation.

Roof condition. Ask directly about the age and condition of the roof and when it was last replaced. Ask for any recent roof inspection reports. A failing roof is an expensive landlord responsibility, but it can disrupt your operations and damage inventory. Confirm who is responsible for roof maintenance under the lease terms.

Exterior walls and insulation. Older tilt-up concrete construction often has minimal insulation. For temperature-sensitive operations, conditioned manufacturing, or facilities in extreme climates, wall insulation matters. Evaluate heating system condition while you're at it — industrial heating is expensive to upgrade.

Dock Doors and Loading

Number and configuration. Count the dock-high doors and grade-level doors. Confirm they match the property's marketing materials — sometimes a building lists "10 docks" but several are occupied by the owner or blocked by prior improvements.

Dock equipment. Are dock levelers present and functional? What condition are they in? Are dock seals or dock shelters installed? Missing or damaged dock equipment is a negotiable improvement item — include it in your TI conversation.

Door sizes. Standard dock doors are 8 feet wide by 9 feet tall. If you're moving oversized freight, specialized equipment, or large vehicles, verify clearances are adequate.

Dock approach. Inspect the exterior concrete approach aprons at each dock. Cracked or settled aprons create daily operational headaches for truck drivers and damage equipment. Repair costs are significant enough to negotiate as a landlord obligation before signing.

Electrical Infrastructure

This is where many industrial tenants make expensive mistakes by not verifying until after they've signed.

Service amperage and voltage. Ask for the utility service entrance documentation. Know your requirement and verify the building meets it. Most light industrial buildings have 200-600 amp service. Manufacturing, cold storage, EV charging, and heavy equipment operations may require 1,000+ amps.

Three-phase power. Confirm that three-phase power is available if your equipment requires it. Single-phase buildings cannot support most manufacturing equipment without a transformer upgrade — which is expensive and not always feasible.

Panel capacity and distribution. Even if the service entrance is adequate, the internal panel distribution may limit where and how you can run power to your equipment. Have an electrician do a walk-through if your power requirements are significant.

Lighting. What kind of lighting is in the warehouse — older fluorescent, LED? LED warehouse lighting is dramatically more energy-efficient and provides better illumination. In older buildings with fluorescent lighting, factor in the upgrade cost if your operation requires good visibility.

Fire Suppression and Life Safety

Sprinkler system type. ESFR (Early Suppression Fast Response) sprinklers are the current standard for high-bay warehousing. Older systems — in-rack, standard response — may limit rack heights or require additional in-rack suppression depending on your storage commodity and local fire codes. Verify that the system supports your intended storage configuration.

Sprinkler density and coverage. Ask for the hydraulic calculations or design density of the system. Certain commodities (aerosols, flammables, Class IV products) require higher density systems that older buildings may not have.

Fire alarm and monitoring. Confirm the building has a functioning alarm system with current monitoring. Verify it's connected to the local fire department.

Exit and egress. Walk the full perimeter. Confirm exits are clearly marked, unobstructed, and code compliant. This is especially important in buildings where prior tenants may have modified the interior layout.

HVAC and Environmental Systems

Warehouse heating. What system heats the warehouse? Gas-fired unit heaters are common and cost-effective. Radiant heating is increasingly popular in manufacturing environments. Evaluate the condition and age of the system.

Office HVAC. Is the office component served by a separate system? Confirm it's functional, properly sized for the office square footage, and not at end of life.

Ventilation and exhaust. For manufacturing, painting, chemical processing, or any operation that generates fumes, dust, or heat, evaluate existing ventilation infrastructure. Adding ventilation systems after the fact is expensive and requires landlord approval and permits.

Environmental history. Ask the landlord directly whether there are any known environmental conditions on the property. Review any available Phase I Environmental Site Assessment. For buildings with prior industrial tenants, environmental due diligence is standard practice — not optional.

Office Component

Condition and layout. Walk the office space carefully. Is the finish level consistent with your needs? What's the ceiling height? Is the layout functional or will significant reconfiguration be required?

Separate entrance. Does the office have a public entrance separate from the warehouse? For businesses with customer or client visits, shared warehouse entrances are often not appropriate.

Restrooms. Are there adequate, properly maintained restrooms for both office and warehouse employees? Confirm the restroom count is code-compliant for your anticipated headcount.

Utilities and Operating Costs

Ask the landlord for the last 12 months of utility bills for the building. This gives you a real picture of gas and electricity costs under typical occupancy. It also reveals any anomalies — unexplained spikes in usage that might indicate a leaking roof drain, a failing HVAC system, or an inefficient building envelope.

Get an estimate of the NNN charges — property taxes, insurance, and CAM — so you can model your total occupancy cost accurately. In industrial, NNN charges commonly run $2 to $4 per square foot annually, but they vary by building age, tax assessment, and landlord management practices.

Making the Call

No building is perfect. The exercise isn't to find a building with zero issues — it's to understand every issue, quantify the cost of addressing it, and negotiate accordingly. A building with a dock leveler that needs replacement and a section of cracked apron isn't a dealbreaker — it's a negotiating point. A building where the power is insufficient for your operation and cannot be economically upgraded is a dealbreaker.

Use this checklist to separate the two.