Hey All, I'm a small bay industrial flex investor and syndicator. Over the last two years, my team and I have closed on 7 assets in markets all across the country. My favorite parts of this asset class are the support it provides to small businesses and getting people connected with these great investments. Looking forward to get to know this community!

Quick update since a few of you asked after my intro: I hired @Vanessa Ballard and she made a beautiful, new, conceptual site plan. The plan grew from about 36,000 SF to 51,240 SF of 1,500 to 2,000 SF bays because she found a much more efficient layout than my own test fit. Feasibility is next, then entitlement, then financing. Two things I learned that I did not know two weeks ago: If you lease 15 or more bays on a well, TCEQ treats you as a public water system. That changes the budget and the timeline. The fire code line that matters for contractor bays is not 12,000 SF. It is 5,000 SF if tenants park work trucks inside. I have to find out how that is assessed by the marshal in our pre-development meeting, however. What I'm looking for now is a partner, not just a quote. That could be a lender who has done spec small bay in a rural county, a JV partner who wants in on the equity side, or a GC willing to partner on a 50K SF metal building program. If you're any of those or know someone who is, I'd like to talk. I'll be at the meetup tomorrow night and at the conference. Come find me if you're building around Houston! -Sai Vipparla

Has anyone used or encountered underground detention with flex? Curios to hear your experiences if so. Thanks!

Quick background: I run Greenpark Compounding Pharmacy, a 34-year-old business I took over from my dad and a small real estate portfolio on the side (multifamily and mid-term rental in Houston and Beaumont). This summer I bought 3.25 acres, all cash, at a county road corner in Waller County NW of Houston to build small bay contractor flex. 1,500 SF bays, 16' clear, drive-in door and restroom in each, NNN leases to HVAC, plumbing, electrical and landscape guys who are running out of their driveways right now. I'm underwriting against the operating small bay parks around Houston and the asking rents on the corridor. Where I am is early. Waiting on a 911 address from the county. No engineer or architect yet and no official site plan. What I have is my own test fit and model built off the county rulebooks. There's no zoning out there but fire code, TCEQ well and septic rules and the groundwater district still decide what fits. It points to roughly 24 bays, about 36,000 SF, and a project that pencils if vertical comes in where I think it does. Plan from here is a real feasibility study, then the entitlement process, then go to investors and lenders with a package that has already cleared the county. What I'm looking for, in order: 1. Feasibility. Who has done a small bay flex study for you in the Houston area that was worth the money, and what did it cover. 2. Civil engineer and architect referrals with small bay experience in an unincorporated county (Waller, Montgomery, Fort Bend). Someone who already knows the fire water, well as public water system, and septic capacity problems. 3. Down the road, metal building design-build GCs who will quote a 30 to 40K SF program, and lenders who have financed spec small bay in a rural county. What I bring: I come at this as an operator, not a fund. Happy to share the test fit, the site cost line items. If you're working the NW Houston corridors I'd like to compare notes. Plenty of room out there."

I am looking forward to seeing everyone in Houston for the Flex Space Connect Conference. I organized a Basecamp networking event the night before the event. It will be great to meet many of you in person. Date: Tuesday, September 29th Time:6:00-9:00 PM Venue: The Flying Saucer, Sugar Land Town Square (private room in the back) Walking distance from the Marriott, which is hosting the conference. No agenda, no slides, just a chance to put faces to the names you've been seeing in the community every week. Come have some food, a drink, talk shop, and meet the people building alongside you. Hope to see you there. wS