I talked to a friend the other day who wanted to put a commercial kitchen component in his new self storage development. I cautioned him about getting into things a storage business person might not know a lot about and about creating a mixed use that may not be compatible. Then I saw this Former Uber CEO Invests In Real Estate Company .
We are seeing a blip of activity re-purposing well located big buildings into self storage. Are we now going to see a flurry of food delivery services servicing tiny apartment complexes of millenials who have moved to city centers to enjoy a carefree city lifestyle?
What else are we going to do with the empty big boxes and the empty industrial space? We could easily house the homeless, but that seems unlikely. We could create affordable housing for those who have been left behind in the latest wave of prosperity. That seems unlikely. We could build indoor farms to get local organic produce to population centers. That is already happening. We could see grow houses for legal cannabis. That is already happening. We could see indoor recreation areas and virtual reality gaming environments. That is already happening. We should see “last mile” distribution centers for all sorts of distribution enterprises. That is already happening.
It should be interesting to see what is next.
