Industrial Real Estate?

[hewettlo]

I'm a year and a half out in the planning stages for a retail store that I have in mind. I'm looking at real estate and buildings that have been marked as industrial have really caught my attention. The square footage is much cheaper, there is usually more of it and while location is not always great, it's not always bad either. As someone who has never been in the industry, what am I missing? Are there typical zoning laws I need to be aware of? Can I run a retail store from a industrial designated real estate?

[Fulcrum]

Retail stores in industrial zones may be an issue. It really depends on what the local zoning ordinances allow. Go to the land office, buy a copy of the zoning bylaws and see if you can find out yourself.

One thing you need to keep your eye on will be property taxes. I know of a company (butcher shop) that had there zoning changed from agri-business to industrial and they received a 1000% property tax increase (around $1400/year to a little over $14,000/year).

[David Hunter]

As Fulcrum said, check with the local zoning laws. Retail is not Industrial.