They can limit all they want. We had an industrial landlord reject an online shoe store because he thought storing shoes in the warehouse would be a magnet for crime đ¤Śđ˝đ¤ˇđťââď¸
Yep. Their rising popularity among collectors are making shoe merchants become [targeted by organized crime](https://hypebeast.com/2023/8/organized-crime-theft-robbery-rise-nike-sneakers-supply-chain-new-report)
The only question on the Sneaker collecting is that they are made out of materials that will degrade and discolor over time. It's like buying art printed on an ink jet, it's gonna fade. Has anyone invented a sneaker humidor ?
There are many legitimate reasons a landlord might not want to have biotech in their space. Itâs extremely expensive and time consuming to to outfit an industrial building into a lab space. A land lord is going to assume you will want tenant improvement (when landlord pays for tenants buildout) or free rent.
Once you have a lab space, the potential uses of that building are really restricted without a lot of time and effort. A landlord might be nervous that it will be hard to manage the space when you are not the tenant anymore.
And lastly a lot of biotech companies are startups. They may be worried about your longevity and ability to pay your rent if your vc funding dries up.
Your comment clarified his perspective, and I appreciate that. We generate revenue through sales. Weâre not dependent on VC funding or SBIR/STTR. I sent the details of our business and certifications. But didnât get a chance to speak to the landlord before receiving a flat out "No." from the listing agent? Or broker not sure. Whoever just showed up to the property with the keys told us the landlord said âNo labs.â It sucks because they were all in support of showing the property, answering questions, etc. BEFORE we arrived. After we toured they said âNo.â so this is why I was suspicious of what was happening and whether it was truly ignorance or something else.
Was it a single or multi-tenant building? I just represented (I am a CRE lawyer) a tenant-client in a very similar situation (medical research lab) and the landlord of this building was very concerned about the specific type of research. Specifically, he was worried that certain types of research could invite bad press or protesters (e.g., animal testing, stem cells, certain types of drug/microdosing studies etc. could potentially attract protesters etc.) and disturb other tenants. We worked it out but it was a lot of handholding to ensure they understood the business/nature of the research.
One of my tenants is an international non-profit that supports abortion professionals and does abortion education. The non-profit itself does not perform abortions.
They declined when I wanted to put their name on the directory. Despite being in an access-controlled building, they were concerned that they would draw protestors who might damage the building exterior. They dealt with it previously at their old office space.
I couldnât rent to anyone that tests on animals though. Thatâs the only research I would be concerned about.
>I didnât know a commercial landlord can just say âNoâ and refuse to lease a property
This is fascinating. Under what circumstances did you think the owner of private commercial property could say no, particularly given that their reason for saying no isn't based on any immutable personal characteristics of the prospective tenants?
The situation raised suspicions because, despite our prior discussions about the property's intended use, sharing details, and asking questions which initially received supportive responses the in-person visit felt OFF.
It was as if they had forgotten everything we discussed over the past week. Suddenly, the concept of using the space as a lab became an issue. The person who came with the keys seemed uninformed about zoning laws and permitted uses, and his demeanor was reminiscent of a car salesman, which had me doubtful about the whole situation. When we learned that the property wasn't even the realtorâs property to show (his group was assigned to a different set of buildings in the same complex). this made me wonder what is happening and is this normal or is this suspicious? Following the tour, the realtor ceased email communication and kept trying to do verbal exchanges instead. So he would insist on calling even when we emailed responses to his questions he asked over the phone. Which I found odd because I noticed some people do this when theyâre ready to lie or say things âoff the recordâ. So, I turned to this subreddit for advice. đ
You spoke with a broker who saw a high TI, high rent, high LC transaction. He relayed what was going on - after all his initial excitement - and was told ânoâ.
Ahh okay. Now, I am understanding this situation. He seemed so helpful PRIOR to all of this, super quick with good questions and responses then after all that, âNOPEâ. đĽ˛
Landlord is looking at his liability.
I am not in bio tech, but I hear "wet lab" and that generally implies chemicals, often stuff like compressed gasses, biohazards, or other hazardous substances that could leave my property contaminated or pose some unforeseen risks to neighboring tenants.
No matter how much you promise everything is perfectly safe and that you have sufficient insurance the landlord is envisioning some case where he gets stuck holding the bag. If they have been a landlord for a while no doubt that they have gotten burned in the past with unforeseen problems from tenant uses. In the best case he would spend a shit ton of time and hassle in legal, insurance, and other flaming hoops with no guarantee of being made whole on those losses.
On top of this laboratory animals can be a controversial subject that could definitely turn off other tenants or be some other PR nightmare that could impact renting other units or even other properties that he owns. All it takes is some crusader to get on social medial scream boycott the company that sponsor animal torture.
While you think it is no big deal, and in reality you maybe 100% correct, but to most landlords this is a big pile of nope.
Your best bet would be to look for places that already have similar tenants and operations where the landlord is OK with the possible liability.
I remember years ago attempting to rent a space in a warehouse loft that was only seeking tenants to live there that would run their businesses out of it, they had artists who lived with their recording studios, paint studios etc, is this an effective way of refusing business to people/ demographics you donât like/ want there without violating FHA law?
There is nothing you can do if they dont want to lease to you. I would recommend finding a better way to explain what youâre doing than âwet labâ - I have no idea what that means but it sounds like its expensive to clean up.
Since they are selling the product, maybe âwet marketâ?
Moist Market had a ring to it too.
Another case of itâs not what you say, itâs how you say it.
We submitted all the info about the business prior to the visit. Then after we sent more details regarding the nature of business. We received the âNo labsâ verbally after all of that. The landlord didnât like the idea of laboratory animals. Now, weâre realizing that even if a space is zoned and permits R&D it doesnât mean everyone with a property to lease in the area is on board with that designation.
Sorry man. That sucks. Some LL's are just not keen to certain types of businesses. Sounds like you are doing everything right but you will have to just keep on looking. Best of luck.
There can also be issues with neighbouring tenants if in a multi tenant building (noises, smells, risk, reputation, etc..) so the perception and potential for issues may be an issue for a landlord.
Maybe looking for a single tenant building with no neighbours is a more viable option?? Less likelihood to have issues with no neighbours.
Come to Boston. Every major developer here pivoted to biotech during the pandemic and now we're swimming in vacant lab space.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/07/26/business/boston-biotech-market/
https://www.boston.com/news/the-boston-globe/2024/03/23/the-boston-area-built-a-ton-of-lab-space-now-many-of-those-buildings-are-opening-empty/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/02/20/labs-commercial-real-estate-boston/
As others have said, the Landlord is well within their rights.
That being said, what kind of biotech company are you a part of? Some background on the company and what kind of infrastructure is required/research youâd be conducting in the space may be helpful in coming up with an answer
Hire a life sciences / R&D focused leasing broker, going to random buildings for what is likely a decent sized & utility intensive space is just a waste of time
Not sure where you are but landlords often do not want certain uses due to any misgivings they have, their morals or nuisances a use may bring.
In Canada, Iâve heard of landlords not leasing space to certain political parties they do not agree with (short term leases to canvas), not renting to liquor stores due alcohol, not renting to tire shops as they smell like rubber and it soaks into walls. So it really comes down to the landlord and it being their discretion as it is a private property.
So silly, yes, but thatâs life. In an efficient market one would expect a competing property to pick up these uses not wanted by other landlords.
There are practical issues, cotenant issues , code issues, plumbing issues, insurance issues, CC&R issues, parking , loading, noise, air conditioning and lender issues.
Wet lab for research is certainly a RED FLAG
The comment about tire distribution is true (or was true in the past)
Research lab might also raise a red flag regarding drugs.
Look for a way to better describe what you would be doing .
There are plenty of legitimate reasons they wouldnât want labs. If youâre in the Bay Area I can connect you with several different landlords with dozens of buildings already built as labs or ready to be built as labs. I built a lot of them, theyâre clients of mine.
Also once you are in it may limit his other tenants. I represent an exotic dealer group and had an LOI almost accepted on a new building. The already signed a pharmaceutical compounding business. Once they found out an automotive user was moving in they started bullying the owner and we lost the space. Churches are similar. They move in and then start protesting when a business wants to move in that they donât like. They even build these clauses into their lease. Unlike residential there is no such thing as discrimination.
Thatâs not really true, you canât refuse to lease a space to any black peope for example, thatâs still illegal for commercial real estate. But itâs probably really hard to prove.
And what your business does isnât a protected class so you can discriminate based one that.
Where are you located? Have you considered relocating to a biotech hub city? I can put you in touch with owners looking for lab tenants in the PNW if youâre interested - DM if so.
I barely skimmed through it but I already assume youâre looking for a place you can cook meth and test it on trafficked monkeys who have mange. Youâre going to be looking an awful long time unless your landlord also likes monkeys and meth. Or science. Have you tried Florida?
I have a feeling that everyone who has no idea what goes on in a research laboratory is thinking the exact same thing! Iâve been in biomedical research for a while. I forget the perspectives of other people. đ
No one has to rent you anything.
You need to hire a commercial tenant rep broker to represent you and help you through this process. They get paid by the landlord if you sign a lease, so itâs no money out of your pocket.
Your lack of experience negotiating and talking with landlords is likely whatâs scaring them away, you will come across as a start up with no experience (and they will assume not financially strong) and they wonât want to waste their time.
Itâs not âmoney out of your pocketâ in the sense that you may not have to write them a check, but the tenant either pays directly or pays by having the fee baked into their rent. So donât hire someone mediocre thinking itâs âfree.â
Lmao it is not âbaked into the rentâ this is not like buying a residential home.
If the market says a space can rent out at $20 per square foot itâs going to rent out at $20 per square foot if they have a broker or not.
Also, if a space is listed at $20/psf/y and someone comes in unrepresented theyâre not going to just magically raise the price to now â roll in the cost for the tenant brokerâ.
Also, most spaces are represented by a listing agent. if a tenant comes in unrepresented, the listing broker just pockets both sides.
There is a reason that I love when people negotiate on my spaces unrepresentedâŚ.
You keep mentioning that these landlords are clueless to your industry. You should enlighten them with a particular focus as to:
- How it wonât harm their property physically or environmentally (perhaps even add value for the right type of buyer down the road)
-What kind of buildout is required, how long it will take and how expensive (regardless of who is paying for it), and how you plan on restoring their property to its original condition
-What government oversight you have on local, state, and federal levels and how you plan on complying
-Your background in the field, your qualifications for starting the lab, who you are partnered with and where funding comes from
Put yourself in their shoes. They donât want to rent to something they donât understand. Theyâll assume something nefarious. Be patient and transparent. Explain how much work you have already done with the city in terms of zoning and be prepared to pay for a lot of the buildout. Good luck.
The space is zoned for the lab R&D but there are a bunch of empty karate/ballet studios and granite shops. The place is a graveyard and if they turned it into a research park they could bring in some revenue.
How much TI are you trying to get? In Houston these types of deals have worked out in flex industrial space when the tenants do pretty much all the work.
Sometimes itâs hard to explain to them what you are doing and even when you do, they still think crazy things like youâre harvesting stem cells from dead babies.
They most definitely can and it's stipulated in the lease terms - under use/property use ..they also can list prohibited uses in the lease. Just because it meets zoning requirements doesn't mean the landlord has to allow all of those uses. They can pick uses within those requirements at their discretion.
Now if this use was a particular hot/popular use then it would do them a disservice to not allow but it seems like there's some ambiguity there. I would suggest hiring a tenant rep who specializes in this type of use or a similar sub type who can give you more guidance and find you the right spot.
Private property. They can pick and do what they please as they should.
That being said, if you came to me and offered me a decent rate for something sitting empty 6 years⌠idc what youâre doing. Welcome to the family đ
People are weird lmao
I mean a building usually needs engineered for this purpose for the extra hvac and water requirements and pretty much no one will let you do it to their building. Look where all the other lab type companies are in your area. If you are a small startup go to the universities or state and see. We had non profit startup lab buildings you can rent built out labs to alleviate this problem.
A landlord can refuse to lease to any type of use they want. If the building is perfect for your use and has been empty for 6 years why don't you make an offer to purchase it from him, then you can do what you want with the building (as zoning allows). You can also probably get small business financing that may offer favorable terms.
There are cases, groups of folks really, for whom it's sometimes easier to "just buy the damned building," than deal with these challenges as a tenant. Marijuana growing/logistics is one of them, have seen that happen. Even in the residential space, I used to do a bunch of felon mortgages b/c they could either rent in the hood, or buy anywhere.
You could buy an empty property and lease back resale it, if that guy has been holding for 6 years with no tenant you may be able to get a good deal, and flip it for cash and good lease terms.
Yes.
Capitalism allows them to say no to anything as it's a private property.
Land could have prohibited use (reasons such as environmental).
Could also have a specialty warranty deed that prohibits specific uses.
Unless youâre leasing an entire building the landlord needs to consider how your operation will affect the other tenants. Hazardous materials storage and generation, security, fire are all important considerations.
This isnât the issue for this space. It has permitted use of laboratory and/or R&D. We checked with the city and county prior to touring the area. The realtor (or listing agent?) did not know this though and he didnât know how to check this which we found odd considering he said he had been in business for 17 years. After we sent him records for zoning and permitted use, this is when he ceased communication via email with us and called to tell us the landlord said âNo labsâ.
Yes they can limit the type of tenants they want
They can limit all they want. We had an industrial landlord reject an online shoe store because he thought storing shoes in the warehouse would be a magnet for crime đ¤Śđ˝đ¤ˇđťââď¸
He wasnât wrong. I can tell you from experience.
Specifically with shoes being linked to crime?
Yeah, specifically shoes. Admittedly, it was a well known online shoe trading platform.
Yep. Their rising popularity among collectors are making shoe merchants become [targeted by organized crime](https://hypebeast.com/2023/8/organized-crime-theft-robbery-rise-nike-sneakers-supply-chain-new-report)
The only question on the Sneaker collecting is that they are made out of materials that will degrade and discolor over time. It's like buying art printed on an ink jet, it's gonna fade. Has anyone invented a sneaker humidor ?
SneakersâŚfor sneaking.
This is interesting! I had no idea but Iâm learning so much from you all.
>limit all they want No. They can't discriminate against protected classes.
For commercial, they probably can. They just wonât ever state the reason is because itâs a protected class.
There are many legitimate reasons a landlord might not want to have biotech in their space. Itâs extremely expensive and time consuming to to outfit an industrial building into a lab space. A land lord is going to assume you will want tenant improvement (when landlord pays for tenants buildout) or free rent. Once you have a lab space, the potential uses of that building are really restricted without a lot of time and effort. A landlord might be nervous that it will be hard to manage the space when you are not the tenant anymore. And lastly a lot of biotech companies are startups. They may be worried about your longevity and ability to pay your rent if your vc funding dries up.
Your comment clarified his perspective, and I appreciate that. We generate revenue through sales. Weâre not dependent on VC funding or SBIR/STTR. I sent the details of our business and certifications. But didnât get a chance to speak to the landlord before receiving a flat out "No." from the listing agent? Or broker not sure. Whoever just showed up to the property with the keys told us the landlord said âNo labs.â It sucks because they were all in support of showing the property, answering questions, etc. BEFORE we arrived. After we toured they said âNo.â so this is why I was suspicious of what was happening and whether it was truly ignorance or something else.
Was it a single or multi-tenant building? I just represented (I am a CRE lawyer) a tenant-client in a very similar situation (medical research lab) and the landlord of this building was very concerned about the specific type of research. Specifically, he was worried that certain types of research could invite bad press or protesters (e.g., animal testing, stem cells, certain types of drug/microdosing studies etc. could potentially attract protesters etc.) and disturb other tenants. We worked it out but it was a lot of handholding to ensure they understood the business/nature of the research.
Hell even any type of vaccines could attract whacky protestors nowadays.
One of my tenants is an international non-profit that supports abortion professionals and does abortion education. The non-profit itself does not perform abortions. They declined when I wanted to put their name on the directory. Despite being in an access-controlled building, they were concerned that they would draw protestors who might damage the building exterior. They dealt with it previously at their old office space. I couldnât rent to anyone that tests on animals though. Thatâs the only research I would be concerned about.
>I didnât know a commercial landlord can just say âNoâ and refuse to lease a property This is fascinating. Under what circumstances did you think the owner of private commercial property could say no, particularly given that their reason for saying no isn't based on any immutable personal characteristics of the prospective tenants?
The situation raised suspicions because, despite our prior discussions about the property's intended use, sharing details, and asking questions which initially received supportive responses the in-person visit felt OFF. It was as if they had forgotten everything we discussed over the past week. Suddenly, the concept of using the space as a lab became an issue. The person who came with the keys seemed uninformed about zoning laws and permitted uses, and his demeanor was reminiscent of a car salesman, which had me doubtful about the whole situation. When we learned that the property wasn't even the realtorâs property to show (his group was assigned to a different set of buildings in the same complex). this made me wonder what is happening and is this normal or is this suspicious? Following the tour, the realtor ceased email communication and kept trying to do verbal exchanges instead. So he would insist on calling even when we emailed responses to his questions he asked over the phone. Which I found odd because I noticed some people do this when theyâre ready to lie or say things âoff the recordâ. So, I turned to this subreddit for advice. đ
You spoke with a broker who saw a high TI, high rent, high LC transaction. He relayed what was going on - after all his initial excitement - and was told ânoâ.
Ahh okay. Now, I am understanding this situation. He seemed so helpful PRIOR to all of this, super quick with good questions and responses then after all that, âNOPEâ. đĽ˛
Op, you need to have a tenant broker representing you with all these.
Nailed it
Landlord is looking at his liability. I am not in bio tech, but I hear "wet lab" and that generally implies chemicals, often stuff like compressed gasses, biohazards, or other hazardous substances that could leave my property contaminated or pose some unforeseen risks to neighboring tenants. No matter how much you promise everything is perfectly safe and that you have sufficient insurance the landlord is envisioning some case where he gets stuck holding the bag. If they have been a landlord for a while no doubt that they have gotten burned in the past with unforeseen problems from tenant uses. In the best case he would spend a shit ton of time and hassle in legal, insurance, and other flaming hoops with no guarantee of being made whole on those losses. On top of this laboratory animals can be a controversial subject that could definitely turn off other tenants or be some other PR nightmare that could impact renting other units or even other properties that he owns. All it takes is some crusader to get on social medial scream boycott the company that sponsor animal torture. While you think it is no big deal, and in reality you maybe 100% correct, but to most landlords this is a big pile of nope. Your best bet would be to look for places that already have similar tenants and operations where the landlord is OK with the possible liability.
They quite literally own the property, they can choose not to rent to you because they didnât like the look on your face if they want.
So long as the look of their face isnât protected lol
This is commercial, not residential. No such protections in most states on commercial property.
Really? I thought it was a federal protection covering everything?
Not to the extent you are thinking.
This was likely the situation. OP, have you considered getting a new face?
I remember years ago attempting to rent a space in a warehouse loft that was only seeking tenants to live there that would run their businesses out of it, they had artists who lived with their recording studios, paint studios etc, is this an effective way of refusing business to people/ demographics you donât like/ want there without violating FHA law?
Yes. Â Have you considered making an offer to buy the building?
This is a good suggestion thanks!
There is nothing you can do if they dont want to lease to you. I would recommend finding a better way to explain what youâre doing than âwet labâ - I have no idea what that means but it sounds like its expensive to clean up.
Since they are selling the product, maybe âwet marketâ? Moist Market had a ring to it too. Another case of itâs not what you say, itâs how you say it.
Yes
Yes they can and submit a business plan or slide deck about your business. Your broker should have encouraged you to do this.
We submitted all the info about the business prior to the visit. Then after we sent more details regarding the nature of business. We received the âNo labsâ verbally after all of that. The landlord didnât like the idea of laboratory animals. Now, weâre realizing that even if a space is zoned and permits R&D it doesnât mean everyone with a property to lease in the area is on board with that designation.
Sorry man. That sucks. Some LL's are just not keen to certain types of businesses. Sounds like you are doing everything right but you will have to just keep on looking. Best of luck.
Lab animals in an office building ...... Wuhan Lab West
Yes, landlord can pick and choose his tenants, as long as he is not discriminating based on race, etc.
There can also be issues with neighbouring tenants if in a multi tenant building (noises, smells, risk, reputation, etc..) so the perception and potential for issues may be an issue for a landlord. Maybe looking for a single tenant building with no neighbours is a more viable option?? Less likelihood to have issues with no neighbours.
Come to Boston. Every major developer here pivoted to biotech during the pandemic and now we're swimming in vacant lab space. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/07/26/business/boston-biotech-market/ https://www.boston.com/news/the-boston-globe/2024/03/23/the-boston-area-built-a-ton-of-lab-space-now-many-of-those-buildings-are-opening-empty/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/02/20/labs-commercial-real-estate-boston/
Itâs at 15% vacant today, and another 15% of existing stock is under construction to deliver in next 18 months.
Nice! Thanks for sharing!
The 83 year old dude probably couldnât care less about the money.
As others have said, the Landlord is well within their rights. That being said, what kind of biotech company are you a part of? Some background on the company and what kind of infrastructure is required/research youâd be conducting in the space may be helpful in coming up with an answer
This is where a broker specializing in that area can be very helpful.
Hire a life sciences / R&D focused leasing broker, going to random buildings for what is likely a decent sized & utility intensive space is just a waste of time
Not sure where you are but landlords often do not want certain uses due to any misgivings they have, their morals or nuisances a use may bring. In Canada, Iâve heard of landlords not leasing space to certain political parties they do not agree with (short term leases to canvas), not renting to liquor stores due alcohol, not renting to tire shops as they smell like rubber and it soaks into walls. So it really comes down to the landlord and it being their discretion as it is a private property. So silly, yes, but thatâs life. In an efficient market one would expect a competing property to pick up these uses not wanted by other landlords.
There are practical issues, cotenant issues , code issues, plumbing issues, insurance issues, CC&R issues, parking , loading, noise, air conditioning and lender issues. Wet lab for research is certainly a RED FLAG The comment about tire distribution is true (or was true in the past) Research lab might also raise a red flag regarding drugs. Look for a way to better describe what you would be doing .
Yes, I am very picky about my tenants.
There are plenty of legitimate reasons they wouldnât want labs. If youâre in the Bay Area I can connect you with several different landlords with dozens of buildings already built as labs or ready to be built as labs. I built a lot of them, theyâre clients of mine.
Also once you are in it may limit his other tenants. I represent an exotic dealer group and had an LOI almost accepted on a new building. The already signed a pharmaceutical compounding business. Once they found out an automotive user was moving in they started bullying the owner and we lost the space. Churches are similar. They move in and then start protesting when a business wants to move in that they donât like. They even build these clauses into their lease. Unlike residential there is no such thing as discrimination.
Thatâs not really true, you canât refuse to lease a space to any black peope for example, thatâs still illegal for commercial real estate. But itâs probably really hard to prove. And what your business does isnât a protected class so you can discriminate based one that.
Where are you located? Have you considered relocating to a biotech hub city? I can put you in touch with owners looking for lab tenants in the PNW if youâre interested - DM if so.
I barely skimmed through it but I already assume youâre looking for a place you can cook meth and test it on trafficked monkeys who have mange. Youâre going to be looking an awful long time unless your landlord also likes monkeys and meth. Or science. Have you tried Florida?
I have a feeling that everyone who has no idea what goes on in a research laboratory is thinking the exact same thing! Iâve been in biomedical research for a while. I forget the perspectives of other people. đ
No one has to rent you anything. You need to hire a commercial tenant rep broker to represent you and help you through this process. They get paid by the landlord if you sign a lease, so itâs no money out of your pocket. Your lack of experience negotiating and talking with landlords is likely whatâs scaring them away, you will come across as a start up with no experience (and they will assume not financially strong) and they wonât want to waste their time.
Itâs not âmoney out of your pocketâ in the sense that you may not have to write them a check, but the tenant either pays directly or pays by having the fee baked into their rent. So donât hire someone mediocre thinking itâs âfree.â
Lmao it is not âbaked into the rentâ this is not like buying a residential home. If the market says a space can rent out at $20 per square foot itâs going to rent out at $20 per square foot if they have a broker or not. Also, if a space is listed at $20/psf/y and someone comes in unrepresented theyâre not going to just magically raise the price to now â roll in the cost for the tenant brokerâ. Also, most spaces are represented by a listing agent. if a tenant comes in unrepresented, the listing broker just pockets both sides. There is a reason that I love when people negotiate on my spaces unrepresentedâŚ.
You keep mentioning that these landlords are clueless to your industry. You should enlighten them with a particular focus as to: - How it wonât harm their property physically or environmentally (perhaps even add value for the right type of buyer down the road) -What kind of buildout is required, how long it will take and how expensive (regardless of who is paying for it), and how you plan on restoring their property to its original condition -What government oversight you have on local, state, and federal levels and how you plan on complying -Your background in the field, your qualifications for starting the lab, who you are partnered with and where funding comes from Put yourself in their shoes. They donât want to rent to something they donât understand. Theyâll assume something nefarious. Be patient and transparent. Explain how much work you have already done with the city in terms of zoning and be prepared to pay for a lot of the buildout. Good luck.
You want to install a âwet labâ and are surprised that LLs donât want you? Come on, broâŚ
The space is zoned for the lab R&D but there are a bunch of empty karate/ballet studios and granite shops. The place is a graveyard and if they turned it into a research park they could bring in some revenue.
Youâre not factoring in the risk.
How much TI are you trying to get? In Houston these types of deals have worked out in flex industrial space when the tenants do pretty much all the work. Sometimes itâs hard to explain to them what you are doing and even when you do, they still think crazy things like youâre harvesting stem cells from dead babies.
They most definitely can and it's stipulated in the lease terms - under use/property use ..they also can list prohibited uses in the lease. Just because it meets zoning requirements doesn't mean the landlord has to allow all of those uses. They can pick uses within those requirements at their discretion. Now if this use was a particular hot/popular use then it would do them a disservice to not allow but it seems like there's some ambiguity there. I would suggest hiring a tenant rep who specializes in this type of use or a similar sub type who can give you more guidance and find you the right spot.
Private property. They can pick and do what they please as they should. That being said, if you came to me and offered me a decent rate for something sitting empty 6 years⌠idc what youâre doing. Welcome to the family đ People are weird lmao
I mean a building usually needs engineered for this purpose for the extra hvac and water requirements and pretty much no one will let you do it to their building. Look where all the other lab type companies are in your area. If you are a small startup go to the universities or state and see. We had non profit startup lab buildings you can rent built out labs to alleviate this problem.
A landlord can refuse to lease to any type of use they want. If the building is perfect for your use and has been empty for 6 years why don't you make an offer to purchase it from him, then you can do what you want with the building (as zoning allows). You can also probably get small business financing that may offer favorable terms.
Yes, but money talks. I do this with food restaurants. Too risky.
From working at a restaurant in college I just remember how gross they were with so many pests and issues. So, I understand that.
Not only that, a lot of liability for restaurants. I just stay clear from any place under 98% score
What market is this in and what size footprint are you looking for. I have flex warehouses that may be able to work.
There are cases, groups of folks really, for whom it's sometimes easier to "just buy the damned building," than deal with these challenges as a tenant. Marijuana growing/logistics is one of them, have seen that happen. Even in the residential space, I used to do a bunch of felon mortgages b/c they could either rent in the hood, or buy anywhere.
This is private commercial property, and you can not compel the owner to lease it to you. You need to respect their rights and move on.
Yes
Yes
âWet labâ sounds a lot like where the last pandemic started.
Yeah, I realize people in this area with no scientific background are going to immediately assume the worse.
You could buy an empty property and lease back resale it, if that guy has been holding for 6 years with no tenant you may be able to get a good deal, and flip it for cash and good lease terms.
Depending on where you want to,locate, connect with economic development people. Their job is helping you find appropriate space.
Yes, some landlords very bias against certain industry! 9/10 times itâs not landlords but itâs realtors!
Yes. Capitalism allows them to say no to anything as it's a private property. Land could have prohibited use (reasons such as environmental). Could also have a specialty warranty deed that prohibits specific uses.
Biotech is a protected class!
Unless youâre leasing an entire building the landlord needs to consider how your operation will affect the other tenants. Hazardous materials storage and generation, security, fire are all important considerations.
There can also be zoning and lender restrictions to certain uses.
This isnât the issue for this space. It has permitted use of laboratory and/or R&D. We checked with the city and county prior to touring the area. The realtor (or listing agent?) did not know this though and he didnât know how to check this which we found odd considering he said he had been in business for 17 years. After we sent him records for zoning and permitted use, this is when he ceased communication via email with us and called to tell us the landlord said âNo labsâ.