Notable: AFC Industries’ Tenant Improvements Focus on Office Spaces

AFC Industries is an industrial distributor of supply chain solutions that works with manufacturers and assemblers across the country. When the company decided to consolidate a number of warehouses and distribution centers to advance its “hub and spoke” operations model, it chose a 164,000-square-foot facility at Northridge 80|35 in Des Moines, IA. In addition to its ideal location at the Interstate 80 and Interstate 35 interchange, the facility offered AFC room for expansion with minimal tenant improvements required.

The improvements we completed for AFC focused largely on building out three distinct office spaces totaling 8,700 square feet and coordinating racking and power and Internet installation throughout the facility, the latter of which led to a change in the role we play in obtaining Internet access in industrial buildings.

• AFC’s primary office space is located off the main entrance and includes a combination of cubicles and private offices, restrooms, a conference room, a break room and a quality control lab. A second office space is located near the middle of the warehouse and provides a break room and restrooms for warehouse workers. A small shipping and receiving office is located at the rear of the facility near the dock doors.

• We installed nine dock levelers including two oversized six- by 10-foot levelers to create a safe and seamless transition for forklifts moving heavy product pallets back and forth between the dock and the truck bed.

• Traditionally with industrial facilities, we install conduits from the building to the street in anticipation of a future tenant’s networking needs. Tenants, however, choose their preferred Internet provider, and we help coordinate fiber optic or coaxial cable installation via our conduits. Due to unexpected delays AFC encountered in securing Internet access in their Northridge 80|35 warehouse – delays that ultimately pushed back occupancy, we now anticipate securing an Internet provider to be part of our tenant improvement offerings. We believe this will result in one less hurdle for tenants on their path to becoming operational in their new facility.

• More about Northridge 80|35