Choosing a Building for Business Success

 

The comedian Erma Bombeck was humorous enough, but in truth, creating the right medical office setting entails a complex formula of considerations. Nowhere is that more the case than in Palm Beach County, where buildings zoned to accommodate medical-office are far and few between.

 

“Medical office users have unique requirements,” explains Lesley Sheinberg, a Director at NAI/Merin Hunter Codman, who has been negotiating medical/tech office leases for a decade. “It goes far beyond aesthetics and into electrical considerations, equipment loads, ease of patient access, proximity to hospitals, and much more. While requirements may be exacting, the good thing is that medical office users are attractive tenants to landlords; they offer stability and are usually long-term tenants with whom a landlord can build relationships.”

 

Building long-term relationships is, of course, integral to the success of a medical practice. But how does that parlay into the office space equation? Sheinberg discusses what tenants should look for when teaming with a landlord to become partners in success.

 

Tenant Considerations:

• First and foremost, is the building under consideration zoned for medical use? In order to accommodate medical users, a building must be pre-approved for such use, which can depend on factors such as the local traffic count, parking capacity, electrical capacity, etc.

• What type of build-out will suit professional medical needs, and what portion of those costs is a landlord willing to bear? Will heavy medical equipment like MRI machines, for example, necessitate ground floor space or heavy floor loads? Will plumbing be required in multiple rooms such as exam rooms or electrical grids need extra capacity?

• Is an office building in proximity to the hospital(s) where you, as a medical professional, have privileges, and is the latter easily accessible? Bridge openings/closings may be a logistical factor in certain areas of South Florida.

• Are there existing medical firms in a building with synergies to you as a potential tenant, i.e. labs, diagnostic companies, etc.?

• Is privacy/accessibility a consideration? For example, would patients feel most comfortable with direct, first-floor street access to your medical services or is access through a lobby inconsequential? Likewise, will a drop-off location or valet be beneficial due to ambulatory needs of clients?

 

While any number of these points may be key to operating success, Sheinberg says that a tenant should also always review the general sponsorship of a building – whether ownership is of the depth and quality necessary to support a building over the long-term. A prospective tenant should inquire as to what other buildings the owner operates and consider the inward and outward appearance of the same as well as tenant rosters.

 

As a veteran tenant representation broker, Lesley Sheinberg navigates local, regional and national markets to find the best office space for her clients. While it may be easy to type a few keywords into Google and find what seems to be great space, it does not provide all the answers. Ms. Sheinberg provides expert advice based on superior market knowledge, detailed research and market expertise. This knowledge coupled with superior negotiation skills places tenants on an even playing field with professionals, landlords and owners.

 

NAI/Merin Hunter Codman (www.mhcreal.com) is one of South Florida’s leading commercial real estate services firms with over three decades of experience advising clients on strategic acquisitions and dispositions and providing landlord representation, tenant representation, property management and construction management services. The firm has expertise in all commercial property sectors including office, retail, industrial, multifamily, hotels and land. NAI/Merin Hunter Codman’s client base includes some of the nation’s most prestigious institutional and private equity investors. Operating as part of the NAI Global network, NAI/Merin Hunter Codman can facilitate property transactions around the nation and the world, serving as a single point of contact for its clients’ counsel and execution. NAI/Merin Hunter Codman is headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida with regional offices in Boca Raton, Palm Beach Gardens and Wellington.