Flex space fails when it tries to be everything. A building with 14-foot clear height, one dock door per 10,000 square feet and a showroom front can serve a tool distributor, a contractor's shop, a small manufacturer and a medical supplier. The same building cannot serve a company that needs 32-foot racking. We design flex buildings for a defined range of tenants, then keep the range honest.
Oklahoma towns have been building for that range in industrial parks that came with infrastructure already in place. Soldier Creek Industrial Park in Midwest City covers 40 acres and was recognized as Site Ready by the Department of Commerce, one of 19 light industrial parks in the state with that certification. Broken Arrow lists Creek 51 Business Park at 85 acres and Jackson Mills at 52 acres, both at the Creek Turnpike and Highway 51 in Wagoner County.
Our flex work covers multi-tenant buildings with rear-load or front-load docks, office-warehouse mixes, small-bay industrial and service-contractor yards. The economics are different from a big-box distribution building, and we price them differently.
Build the shell, then finish to the tenant
We build flex shells in a way that makes tenant improvements cheap. Demising walls run to the deck, utilities enter at each bay, the slab has stub-ups where a restroom might go, and the roof drains work at any bay count. The finished building has a shell condition that a tenant can occupy in weeks, with office build-out added to suit.
Speed matters because a flex tenant is usually a smaller company with a lease that starts on a date. We keep the tenant-improvement schedule in mind during the shell work and stock the permitting package with the common finishes. A repeatable shell with a standard bay width, like 30 by 60 feet, lets us price the second building quicker than the first. See also mezzanine and office build-outs for the interior side.
Industrial parks with infrastructure in place
The sites matter more than the architecture. A park with roads, water, sewer and power at the lot line, and an economic development agency that answers the phone, can cut months off the start. Soldier Creek was developed beginning in 2012 with a $1 million federal Economic Development Administration grant and a $2 million city contribution, and it sits in the city's only opportunity zone. That kind of public investment is why small and mid-size industrial space gets built.
Smaller industrial complexes do the same work in smaller cities. In Guthrie, a 2016 report described a tenant taking 35,000 square feet in an industrial complex with more than 40 personnel, and another starting with 20, about 60 jobs in all. In Norman, a technology center in the city-owned Norman Business Park announced 800 additional jobs in April 2024. Local pages for Midwest City and Guthrie cover the sites in more detail.
Tenants we plan for
The common flex tenant types are trade contractors, parts distributors, light assemblers, small manufacturers, e-commerce sellers, service and repair shops, and showroom-plus-warehouse users. They need a bay with a grade-level door, a dock door or both, 24 to 28 feet of clear height at the upper end, enough power for tools, and parking for trucks and cars. Trade contractors usually want an outdoor yard.
When the tenant outgrows flex, the next step is a bigger box. Our manufacturing plant and office building pages describe the other end of the spectrum, and the building products distribution page covers one of the most typical flex users.
Structure, slab and bay layout
Most flex buildings use tilt-wall or pre-engineered metal construction, with a front finish of storefront glass, masonry or metal panel to make the building look like a business address. Structures are single-story, 20 to 28 feet at the eave, with a slab thick enough for forklifts but lighter than a rack-supported warehouse. Roofs get insulation and drainage matched to local weather and the lease.
Parking and site circulation get as much attention as the building. A flex project with a crowded lot will lose tenants. We lay out separate zones for customer parking and truck access, add curb cuts the city will accept, and design drainage that reaches a basin without puddling at the doors. A slightly oversized detention pond at the beginning is cheaper than a retrofit.
Zoning, codes and parks
Industrial park covenants add a layer to the permit. Some require masonry fronts, landscaping minimums, screened dumpsters and sign rules. We read the covenants before the site plan is drawn. The state sets minimum codes through the Uniform Building Code Commission, and cities adopt and enforce their own editions and amendments, so the city building department sets the final code path.
Occupancy mixes deserve a look as well. A building that contains a repair shop, a warehouse and a small office may include more than one occupancy classification, with fire separations between them. Multi-tenant buildings often need rated demising walls and separate egress. We review the likely tenant list with the building official early, because it is simpler to design for the range than to change a wall after approval.
Tell us who the tenants will be
Send the park, the lot size and the tenant types you expect. We will return a bay layout, a shell price and a realistic schedule. If the tenant is known, we can shift to a build-to-suit plan. Our Broken Arrow page covers the east-side market.
Common Questions
How much clear height should a flex building have?
Twenty-four feet clear covers most light industrial users, and 28 feet gives more flexibility for light racking. Higher clear costs more in wall panels or columns and rarely pays for a multi-tenant building. We price a 24-foot and a 28-foot option when the owner is not sure.
Is a Site Ready park worth a premium?
The Department of Commerce Site Ready recognition tells a developer the park has been reviewed by the state as ready for development, which can shorten diligence. Ask the agency what the review covered. It does not replace site-specific engineering, so we run our own checks.
Can I convert flex space to office?
Often, yes. A shell designed with plumbing stubs, ductwork routes and electric capacity can take an office conversion without major demolition. Parking requirements may change with the use, and the city may require a new occupancy review.
What does a typical multi-tenant flex building look like?
A single-story building with several bays, each with a front entry, a rear dock door or grade-level door, and its own restroom and utilities. Bay widths often run 25 to 40 feet and depths 60 to 100 feet. We design the demising walls so tenants can combine adjacent bays later.
How do you handle drainage in industrial parks?
We follow the park's master drainage plan if one exists and design the site to send runoff to the planned basin or channel. Every city and park has its own rules, so we check them before grading. Expect a stormwater plan review at the city.