I have an ecommerce retail business and I want to create a brick and mortar. I used to intern with Brick + Beam!
I called a retail/office use for lease on Forest and Cass Ave. They said I could be rent free if I spend at least 50-70k on rehab. I need some financial assistance. Call me at 248 396 0681 or email at [email protected]. visit my website for more on my business www.natecatey.com/our-story
Discussion
If you need assistance with facility location or buildout let me know
If you need assistance with facility location or buildout let me know
Detroit BizGrid (http://detroitbizgrid.com/get-started/) is a good place to find sources for small business assistance. I would also highly recommend reaching out to Techtown (https://techtowndetroit.org/open-office-hours/) and seeing if you can sit down with somebody for advice. The staff there is extremely helpful.
Also, I am an architect with experience working on tenant fit-out / renovation work, and I would definitely recommend seeking out an architect to help you with this process. You want to make sure you know what you are signing up to do when you agree to renovate a portion of the building and occupy it, and what work you want to stay away from in order to avoid the renovation being considered as a more major alteration that triggers more intense code updates (technically termed Alterations Type I, II, or III, or Change of Occupancy). (Also, if I understand what you are doing, you will be required by BSEED to hire an architect to file drawings for permits regardless.)
Also, something else to be careful of, is it sounds like you may be the person who hires the contractor and signs the construction contract, instead of the landlord which is more typical. In that case you will want to have an attorney review the contracts before going into construction, as you want to make sure, for example, that you and your company will be protected from losing the lease prematurely, and that things like insurances are in order to protect you and your company in the event of fire damage or theft.
That being said, please don't be daunted. There are a lot of organizations in this city who are working in tandem to help small business owners like you get funding, especially for the purpose of rehabbing buildings. If you get the right team together, between the architect, contractor, landlord, and all the other people involved, it can be a really rewarding process that results in lifelong professional friendships.
Good luck, and please feel free to reach out to me if you would like more advice and assistance.
[email protected]