Flex Space Feasibility Study in the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Metro Area

Flex space is counted with office and retail rental under one lessor code, and Greater New York ranks 4 of 312 areas for it, even though lessors hold only 22 of 39 slots in the metro's own list and a quotient of 0.38x sits far below parity. FY2017 to FY2026 yields 38 approvals worth $41.7 million. A median of $462,250 comes to 0.77x the nation's, and the bulk of loans run from $210,500 to $1.0 million.

The FY2024 note

Lending to nonresidential lessors nearly stops in SBA's data from FY2024, so the years after that point are thin by design and should not be read as a collapse in demand for flex buildings. FY2026 carries 0 loans and $0, a real count, and FY2024 and FY2025 are hidden. The page's own note on lessors states this, and a study should treat recent years accordingly.

Counties, lender and the rows we can read

Bergen County, NJ has 7 loans, Middlesex County, NJ 6, Nassau County, NY 6 and Suffolk County, NY 5. Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company appears at 7 loans and $969,100. FY2019 shows 8 loans and $9.3 million, FY2021 12 loans and $17.4 million and FY2023 5 loans and $2.5 million. FY2017, FY2018, FY2020 and FY2022 are hidden, along with the program counts and both loss measures. Hidden is not zero, and the franchise share is 0.00%.

Testing a flex building

Office and retail lessors cannot be pulled out of this class, so a study must define the product: light industrial, showroom, office warehouse or a mix, and the tenants each can support. Rent, vacancy and absorption for the specific submarket must come from the study itself, along with the ceiling heights, loading, power and parking that decide whether a building leases. Construction or acquisition cost belongs beside the $462,250 median, with attention to environmental condition and zoning. Debt service coverage should rest on signed leases and a vacancy case, since a lessor's income depends on tenants rather than the sponsor's own operation. The appraisal should value the as-is and stabilized building. Placement follows the July 2023 definitions. A flex study should list the tenant types, the clear heights and the lease terms each can sign, because those are the first questions a lender and an appraiser will raise.