Today’s question comes from Chris in Florida who asks,

I’m considering a property South of Houston for an industrial equipment storage facility. The address was located in the email. I have a good understanding of what that segment of the market needs, but have limited knowledge of the Houston area.

Chris, this is a great question.

The specific location that you’ve highlighted is not a good location in my opinion. It’s too far South West of the city and is at the edge of the urban developed area. It’s not on the way to anything. It’s about a 15 minute drive from the nearest freeway which connects Houston and Galveston.

In my opinion, owners of industrial equipment will not want to add a half hour round trip to the daily movement of equipment to be that far away. The additional cost of fuel will erase any savings that might be possible with the lower cost real estate at the extreme edge of the urban boundary.

It’s true that there is no zoning regulation in the Houston area. That means that you can literally build anything anywhere. But the lack of government restriction doesn’t mean that your product will be economically viable in any location.