Now that your business has taken off, you are outgrowing your existing office space. Fortunately, Boston has plenty of commercial spaces for lease. According to Loop Net, the average cost for commercial space in Beantown is approximately $24 per square foot. To remain profitable, you probably do not want to pay to rent more space than you need.
Determining how much commercial space you need to rent can be a bit like reading tea leaves. In addition to understanding your business needs, you must think about providing an ideal space for your customers, tenants, vendors and others to visit.
The space you intend to occupy
The first part of the equation is determining how much space you need to conduct business. In commercial real estate terms, this is your rentable area. When shopping for a space, you should consider how much room your employees, inventory, equipment and other business assets need to exist.
If you intend to expand during your lease term, accounting for future growth ensures you do not have to break your lease and relocate.
The space you can use
Many commercial spaces have space you can use, even though you cannot do so exclusively. Lobbies, elevators, stairways and courtyards fall into this category. Even though you cannot exclusively occupy these areas, you must pay for them.
Many commercial landlords publish the load factor for their spaces. This is the difference between rentable and useable square footage. Ultimately, you should know the load factor for the building to determine whether you are paying too much for the spaces you use.
