Industrial Unit for gym -planning & Buildout Cost

Brois

Hello all,

Just looking for some advice regarding leasing an industrial unit for starting a gym business.

If anyone has done this, I'd really appreciate advice.

What types of safety certs will be needed by local authorities? Is changing the usage from Light Industrial/Industrial to Services(Gym) difficult/costly?

Also, once the planning etc has been cleared; we will need to do some build-out. Is this something that could be negotiated into the lease in the current environment?
We would be looking to build a partition containing: Office/meeting room, Therapy room, Yoga Studio, 3 toilets (1 wheelchair accessible) and 2 showers inside a 450m2 industrial unit (Rest of space would be the gym floor)
Just looking for a ball park figure for the above work we will be looking to do in the future and advice regarding negotiating this into our lease etc....

Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated. (As with all these threads I've read, I'm sure my query is too vague etc, so feel free to pick holes and I'll try to hone down my query)

Thanks!

Gumbo

Brois wrote: »

Hello all,

Just looking for some advice regarding leasing an industrial unit for starting a gym business.

If anyone has done this, I'd really appreciate advice.

What types of safety certs will be needed by local authorities? Is changing the usage from Light Industrial/Industrial to Services(Gym) difficult/costly?

Also, once the planning etc has been cleared; we will need to do some build-out. Is this something that could be negotiated into the lease in the current environment?
We would be looking to build a partition containing: Office/meeting room, Therapy room, Yoga Studio, 3 toilets (1 wheelchair accessible) and 2 showers inside a 450m2 industrial unit (Rest of space would be the gym floor)
Just looking for a ball park figure for the above work we will be looking to do in the future and advice regarding negotiating this into our lease etc....

Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated. (As with all these threads I've read, I'm sure my query is too vague etc, so feel free to pick holes and I'll try to hone down my query)

Thanks!

• Planning Permission for change of use required.
• Fire Safety Certificate required.
• Disability Access Certificate required.

Assigned Certifier will need to be appointed to supervise construction and certify on completion through the Local Authority

I think you will need to budget 10k for the planning, fire, Disability and Assigned Certifier costs alone.

You then may have contributions, and obviously fit out costs to bring it up to standard.

Angry bird

Call into your local planning office and find out whether a gym use is permissible for the building before you go further.

Gumbo

Angry bird wrote: »

Call into your local planning office and find out whether a gym use is permissible for the building before you go further.

+1

Get the site location map and check it against the development plan zoning maps. They generally get permission from what I see.

Brois

Thanks very much for the information above. Really appreciate it.

Will call into planning office.
kceire, you said: "They generally get planning permission from what I see", is that industrial units converting to gyms?

Looks like we will have to widen the budget a little before we even look at building facilities! We had originally thought around 5k would see to planning, fire and other certs.

Thanks again.

I'll throw another curly in here; if the unit was to be used as mixed use, i.e: a cafe and a gym, would that rocket the planning costs and put the permission through even more hoops?

nice_guy80

do you need showers?
I'm guessing its a crossfit type gym?

will hike up the insurance costs, plus money spent on heating the water and time cleaning them out

Gumbo

Brois wrote: »

Thanks very much for the information above. Really appreciate it.

Will call into planning office.
kceire, you said: "They generally get planning permission from what I see", is that industrial units converting to gyms?

Looks like we will have to widen the budget a little before we even look at building facilities! We had originally thought around 5k would see to planning, fire and other certs.

Thanks again.

I'll throw another curly in here; if the unit was to be used as mixed use, i.e: a cafe and a gym, would that rocket the planning costs and put the permission through even more hoops?

Yes, I've generally seen applications for gym use in industrial estates. Glasnevin Industrial Estate for example. The planners I have contact with don't have an issue with it, but it's also worth bearing in mind, that each change do use is site specific so you would be best served n approaching the planner for your area to discuss the possibilities of a change of use application being successful.

If you throw in the cafe, it adds to the gym as such. So the planner has more to look at. They will then look at the proposed use and how it will sit in with the adjoining units. I'm not a planner so I wouldn't be too up n the lingo they use. Angry Bird above tends to post with a good mindset of a planner so they may be able to help you out more in that regard.

Where I can help,is the fire safety end and the universal access to the place. With a cafe, the purpose group and fore risk increases as you will now have more people within the building with possible cooking etc this just mans that the fire safety design has to be done to match the new purpose group and the associated risk with that. Compartments, fore,alarm and detection etc will have to be linked throughout etc

Where is the unit located?

Brois

We don't even have a unit yet! Sorry, just really ahead of schedule with our planning. We're about 12 months out still, so will just be talking to estate agents etc to source a unit in the coming months.

To be honest, the cafe etc isn't essential. If it costs us an extra $10k in building regulation stuff it mightn't even be viable.

Plan is to be a Strength & Conditioning facility, not too dissimilar to a Crossfit Box in build-out and requirements. Will definitely have to build two showers. Many people don't even use the showers in these places, but they become a huge deterrent if you don't have them! *Scratches head*

Sounds like you have experience with this nice_guy, showers hike up the insurance? By much? I'm assuming this is due to risks of slipping etc?
Heating the water will be a cost, but a necessary one. Cleaning them and toilets is all part and parcel of owning and running your own business I'm afraid! But that doesn't bother me so much, just give me the bucket and my marigold gloves!