When I say “storage”, a couple thoughts may come to your mind— “the cloud”, which more and more companies are using to store soft copies of files and documentation, or a storage closet where items like unused furniture, filing cabinets, hard copy files and other hard assets are kept.
But what about third-party storage facilities? Should companies take advantage of such services or just store inactive items somewhere in their office space?
Here are some thoughts to take into consideration:
- Cost – Consider your office space lease rate. According to the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB), the average office space lease rate in downtown Toronto in the last quarter of 2016 was $12.86/per square foot net1. If the storage space required for your inactive hard assets is roughly 50 square feet, then $643 of your total monthly lease would be paid towards storing hard assets not currently in use in your office space. A third-party storage facility may charge $150 to $200 per month for the same size storage space. That alone would be a monthly savings of over $400 in favour of using a third-party storage facility.
- Space usage – Would storing your inactive hard assets be an effective use of your office space? With the trend towards companies occupying smaller office spaces, the need to utilize every valuable square foot of office space for business-related activities would likely be a more business savvy choice than trying to squeeze those items in a corner of your office space.
- Security – Your office space landlord may provide the security services needed to protect all of your valuable assets but the same would be true for a third-party storage facility. Security cameras and special security locks are just a couple of features that third-party storage facilities offer their clientele.
- Flexibility – Ahh! There is that key word again. Unless you foresee re-purposing your inactive hard assets into your office space design in the immediate future, keep in mind that third-party storage facilities do offer flexibility in terms of short-term and long-term storage leases, location, and sizes of storage spaces, while giving you the flexibility you need to maximize the use of your office space.
- Accessibility – Whether accessibility means “proximity”, “information about” or just “ease of extracting” those inactive hard assets when needed, third-party storage facilities offer it all. Some storage facilities may even offer or arrange a delivery service as an added convenience to their clientele.
These are just a few advantages. If you are considering to use a third party storage facility for your inactive hard assets, contact us for more information. We provide secure, temperature controlled, flexible solutions for all your storage needs.
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D.J. McGauley & Associates Inc. is your Office Space Planning, Renovations and Relocation Project Management Company of choice. If a renovation or relocation of your office space is in your plans, please contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. By the end of that meeting, you will know all that would be required to make your office renovation/relocation project a successful reality.
Ask us about our asset management services!
Call 416-239-1931, email [email protected] or visit our website for more information and to complete our contact form.
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1Toronto Real Estate Board, Commercial Realty Watch Fourth Quarter 2016, http://trebcommercial.com/public/comwatch/com_back/2016/pdf/cw16Q4.pdf