Commercial buildings are buildings where commercial activities take place. Commercial buildings include office buildings, retail space, warehouses and more. This differs somewhat from commercial property, which also includes multi-family buildings like apartment buildings. The reason for this is that commercial buildings are where commerce happens, while commercial property earns money for its owners but doesn’t have to have commerce happening in it. Multi-use buildings that have a mix of spaces, such as a retail area and apartments, can still be considered commercial in certain circumstances.
Types of commercial buildings
Here are some of the types of commercial buildings:
Office buildings
Office buildings are a common type of commercial building that can be found in cities and even towns of any size, depending on the needs of the community. An office building might be only one story or it might be a skyscraper, depending on where it’s located and how much the developer wants to invest into it. The owner of an office building might have offices within it, or they might rent out the entire building. In an office building, the tenants might be just one company or they might be many companies even on the same floors.
Restaurants
Restaurants are another common type of commercial building. For buildings that contain just one restaurant and aren’t a multi-use property, the owner may be the owner of the restaurant or they may lease the building to the restaurant owners. This is true whether the restaurant is a franchise, a chain or an independent restaurant. A restaurant building might be custom built for the tenant based on brand standards, or it might be built to work for any restaurant tenant. Restaurant buildings often have advanced requirements compared to other commercial businesses due to their kitchens.
Hotels
Hotels are another type of commercial building, although it may seem that they qualify as a residential building and thus not commercial. Because hotels are more of a commercial business than just renting apartments, and the turnover is usually faster, they are generally considered commercial. Some hotels are small, one story roadside motels, while others are skyscrapers with other businesses inside them like restaurants and retail. The hotel owner might also own the building, or they might lease it, depending on a variety of factors.
Warehouses
Warehouses are a type of commercial building that is common in many places, from large cities to rural areas. Warehouses are usually a storage hub for another type of business, such as a logistics and shipping company using a warehouse to store their packages as they process and transport them or a retail company keeping stock in a warehouse until it’s needed in a store. Warehouses might be a brief stop for what they hold or they might be a long-term storage facility. Some warehouses need careful climate controls because of the types of things stored there.
Industrial
Industrial buildings are actually a broad range of buildings including manufacturing facilities, workshop facilities and even certain types of warehouses are considered industrial. An industrial building might have hazardous chemicals in it, it might have heavy machinery or it might serve customers as with an auto shop. Even though industrial buildings can contain such a wide range of business types, many times they are all grouped together because of potential noise or hazard issues. This keeps these types of buildings from being too close to residential neighborhoods, although of course the distance can vary depending on the city or town.