4 ms·

Very cool. I noticed (especially on the linked-in-another-comment detroiturbex) that there are tons of abandoned offices, buildings, libraries and schools in A

Very cool. I noticed (especially on the linked-in-another-comment detroiturbex) that there are tons of abandoned offices, buildings, libraries and schools in America. Who owns these? How difficult would it be to purchase one, and how expensive? It would be cool to live in one of these (with power and running water, of course) and have freight elevators, PA systems and escalators in your home.

breckinloggins 14y ago
> Who owns these? It varies. Sometimes they are still owned by the original tenants but often they are owned by a real estate investor that did triple net leases to large clients. In some cases, the buildings are owned by the city or some other government entity. The best way to find out is to take a trip to the local courthouse. > How difficult would it be to purchase one? Assuming the owner wants to sell, probably a bit difficult. But no more difficult than any other large commercial real estate purchase. The buildings usually don't have some special status just because they are "abandoned". Things that WILL make acquisition more difficult, however, is if the building is an historical landmark, condemned, has asbestos or other environmental problems, is scheduled for demolition by the city, has lots of lien holders and a complicated title, etc. But all of this is just another way of saying that large real estate transactions can be challenging. There's a reason there are large law firms exclusively devoted to this stuff. > how expensive? It depends on why it was abandoned. If the existing tenant just went out of business or otherwise moved out due to their own problems or reasons, then the building will probably be priced similarly to other properties in the area (in other words, it's not a given that 'abandoned' somehow entails a price break). If there are severe location problems (like many places in Detroit, for example) then there may be breaks based on that. Lastly, if there are severe environmental, structural, or other problems with the property itself, you might be able to purchase it for a song, but that doesn't mean you won't have to spend megabucks to fix it so you can get a certificate of occupancy. Watch out! Another way to think of all this is that the word 'abandoned' is a romantic term with connotations of artistic urban decay. However, sometimes it's just a vacant building. There's nothing special about it just because no one is currently in there. > It would be cool to live in one of these (with power and running water, of course) and have freight elevators, PA systems and escalators in your home. Probably not as cool as you're envisioning. Every one of these things has to be maintained and/or replaced. That's probably going to be just slightly more expensive than calling a residential plumber. Your heating, water, and sanitation bills are likely to be atrocious simply because it's a large building in (probably) an area zoned for commerce. What good is all that space if you have to keep all of it dark except for a few hundred square feet? Then, of course, you have to worry about squatters and other people who won't realize or won't care that there's someone living in there. I don't know about you, but I'd prefer my home to be a sanctuary and not have to constantly worry whether I'm going to run into a trespasser who may or may not be friendly. But hey, despite all this if you can find a really cool abandoned building and live in it, be sure to blog about it and take pictures so we can all live vicariously through you!
- saalweachter 14y ago
  You might be able to get a discount if you find a building which is worse than useless. For instance, an abandoned grain silo in the middle of a city that no one wants to store grain in is useless and also horribly expensive to tear down. So you might be able to buy it for less than the cost of an empty lot in the same area (which could still be quite a lot!) because the people you're bidding against would buy it and bulldoze it.
- pavel_lishin 14y ago
  Don't forget that some buildings are not zoned as residential, and therefore cannot have people actually living there. (Not that you can't live there - just that eventually, some people from the city will show up with a lot of fines for you to pay.)
brudgers 14y ago
"How difficult would it be to purchase one, and how expensive?" This sort of real-estate tends to be priced based on the income it can produce. Or might produce. If you have enough money, probably not that difficult. But keep in mind that the building probably sits empty for good reasons. Obsolescence being the most obvious. There isn't much call for that type of retail space.
MikeAmelung 14y ago
Here is an article with details about the sale: http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2010/08/16/daily57.html?page=all http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2010/08/16/daily5... Not much for the second largest building in St. Louis. Then again, they were looking at a considerable bill for renovations.
dylanhassinger 14y ago
15 years ago, downtown St. Louis was largely vacant except for a few big name companies. Since then it's come back in a big way, with a solid loft district, new sports and entertainment facilities, and a steady progression of rehabbing and revitalization. But there's still a number of large buildings waiting to be rehabbed. The Railway Exchange is the biggest of these (but at least it's partially occupied!) One of the best (and first) success stories is the City Museum: http://www.citymuseum.org/ http://www.citymuseum.org/ It's a living example of the mantra: "New ideas need old buildings" :)
- eli 14y ago
  The City Museum is an awesome place (though, let's be honest, it's not really a museum). A massive, ingenious playground with an element of real danger to it -- awesome.
prawn 14y ago
There was a Grand Designs episode (2003, Series 3, Ep 2 - "The Water-Works") where a couple took on an old facility that was in very poor condition but had some potential if you had imagination: "The 1930s derelict water works Chris Jones and Leanne Smith fell in love with was huge and its design had clearly been inspired by Gilbert Scott's Bankside power station, now better known as the Tate Modern. But nothing would deter the couple. 'We looked at it,' said Chris, 'and saw our home.'" Took insane amounts of work from the two of them, but they really made something of it. The interior looked fantastic by the end of the process. Their work desk was made out of a Mini, I think it was? Worth watching if you can track it down and have an interest in that sort of thing.
- tonyedgecombe 14y ago
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BER7a-JP3vs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BER7a-JP3vs
  - greyboy 14y ago
    "The uploader has not made this video available in your country. Sorry about that." Bummer.

breckinloggins 14y ago

> Who owns these? It varies. Sometimes they are still owned by the original tenants but often they are owned by a real estate investor that did triple net leases to large clients. In some cases, the buildings are owned by the city or some other government entity. The best way to find out is to take a trip to the local courthouse. > How difficult would it be to purchase one? Assuming the owner wants to sell, probably a bit difficult. But no more difficult than any other large commercial real estate purchase. The buildings usually don't have some special status just because they are "abandoned". Things that WILL make acquisition more difficult, however, is if the building is an historical landmark, condemned, has asbestos or other environmental problems, is scheduled for demolition by the city, has lots of lien holders and a complicated title, etc. But all of this is just another way of saying that large real estate transactions can be challenging. There's a reason there are large law firms exclusively devoted to this stuff. > how expensive? It depends on why it was abandoned. If the existing tenant just went out of business or otherwise moved out due to their own problems or reasons, then the building will probably be priced similarly to other properties in the area (in other words, it's not a given that 'abandoned' somehow entails a price break). If there are severe location problems (like many places in Detroit, for example) then there may be breaks based on that. Lastly, if there are severe environmental, structural, or other problems with the property itself, you might be able to purchase it for a song, but that doesn't mean you won't have to spend megabucks to fix it so you can get a certificate of occupancy. Watch out! Another way to think of all this is that the word 'abandoned' is a romantic term with connotations of artistic urban decay. However, sometimes it's just a vacant building. There's nothing special about it just because no one is currently in there. > It would be cool to live in one of these (with power and running water, of course) and have freight elevators, PA systems and escalators in your home. Probably not as cool as you're envisioning. Every one of these things has to be maintained and/or replaced. That's probably going to be just slightly more expensive than calling a residential plumber. Your heating, water, and sanitation bills are likely to be atrocious simply because it's a large building in (probably) an area zoned for commerce. What good is all that space if you have to keep all of it dark except for a few hundred square feet? Then, of course, you have to worry about squatters and other people who won't realize or won't care that there's someone living in there. I don't know about you, but I'd prefer my home to be a sanctuary and not have to constantly worry whether I'm going to run into a trespasser who may or may not be friendly. But hey, despite all this if you can find a really cool abandoned building and live in it, be sure to blog about it and take pictures so we can all live vicariously through you!

saalweachter 14y ago
You might be able to get a discount if you find a building which is worse than useless. For instance, an abandoned grain silo in the middle of a city that no one wants to store grain in is useless and also horribly expensive to tear down. So you might be able to buy it for less than the cost of an empty lot in the same area (which could still be quite a lot!) because the people you're bidding against would buy it and bulldoze it.
pavel_lishin 14y ago
Don't forget that some buildings are not zoned as residential, and therefore cannot have people actually living there. (Not that you can't live there - just that eventually, some people from the city will show up with a lot of fines for you to pay.)

brudgers 14y ago

"How difficult would it be to purchase one, and how expensive?" This sort of real-estate tends to be priced based on the income it can produce. Or might produce. If you have enough money, probably not that difficult. But keep in mind that the building probably sits empty for good reasons. Obsolescence being the most obvious. There isn't much call for that type of retail space.

MikeAmelung 14y ago

Here is an article with details about the sale: http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2010/08/16/daily57.html?page=all http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2010/08/16/daily5... Not much for the second largest building in St. Louis. Then again, they were looking at a considerable bill for renovations.

dylanhassinger 14y ago

15 years ago, downtown St. Louis was largely vacant except for a few big name companies. Since then it's come back in a big way, with a solid loft district, new sports and entertainment facilities, and a steady progression of rehabbing and revitalization. But there's still a number of large buildings waiting to be rehabbed. The Railway Exchange is the biggest of these (but at least it's partially occupied!) One of the best (and first) success stories is the City Museum: http://www.citymuseum.org/ http://www.citymuseum.org/ It's a living example of the mantra: "New ideas need old buildings" :)

eli 14y ago
The City Museum is an awesome place (though, let's be honest, it's not really a museum). A massive, ingenious playground with an element of real danger to it -- awesome.

prawn 14y ago

There was a Grand Designs episode (2003, Series 3, Ep 2 - "The Water-Works") where a couple took on an old facility that was in very poor condition but had some potential if you had imagination: "The 1930s derelict water works Chris Jones and Leanne Smith fell in love with was huge and its design had clearly been inspired by Gilbert Scott's Bankside power station, now better known as the Tate Modern. But nothing would deter the couple. 'We looked at it,' said Chris, 'and saw our home.'" Took insane amounts of work from the two of them, but they really made something of it. The interior looked fantastic by the end of the process. Their work desk was made out of a Mini, I think it was? Worth watching if you can track it down and have an interest in that sort of thing.

tonyedgecombe 14y ago
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BER7a-JP3vs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BER7a-JP3vs
- greyboy 14y ago
  "The uploader has not made this video available in your country. Sorry about that." Bummer.