Context
Same building as Kent / Kent2 / Kent3 — 5 stories × 15 × 30 m, Zhongshan industrial mixed-use zone, fixed central cores (W stair · industrial elevator west-facing · E stair) in band y = 13–18 m. South frontage has 3 roll-up doors on L1 — the obvious, valuable feature for commercial use. The freight elevator is well-suited to grocery deliveries, restaurant supply runs, and office furniture moves.
L2 = 8 holiday/rental units (/kent2). L4–L5 = additional residential or hotel use (TBD). This page documents L1 (commercial) and L3 (office) fit-out concepts.
L1 — Commercial use options
Three fit-out scenarios for the same L1 shell. All three preserve the existing cores and use the 3 roll-ups as the primary customer interface. Tenant choice depends on the local demand pattern — see "which to pick" below.
Option A · Restaurant (~80 seats)
Dining south (12 four-tops + 10-stool bar + 2-tops by window = ~80 covers), commercial kitchen north (cook line, prep, dish, walk-in cooler/freezer fed by freight elevator), customer + staff WCs flanking the cores. Cook-line exhaust runs up a dedicated shaft along the W stair wall. Best for: dinner-trade neighborhoods near factory shift-end traffic, weekend tourist corridors.
Option B · Grocery / Convenience
~225 m² shop floor with 5 E–W gondola aisles, cold cases against the east wall, 3 checkouts at the south roll-ups (one express). Back of house north: pallet racking, walk-in cooler, freezer, manager office, staff break + WC, all fed by the freight elevator. Best for: dense residential surroundings (the 30+ residential keys above on L2 + L4 + L5 are themselves part of the customer base), 7-day operation.
Option C · Mixed bays (café + convenience + service)
3 vertical bays of 5 × 22 m, one tenant per roll-up, party walls between, shared back service corridor. Bay 1 (W): café with espresso bar, pastry case, ~30 seats. Bay 2 (mid): convenience store with cold cases + 4 aisles. Bay 3 (E): service hub — laundromat (6 washers + dryers) + courier pickup wall + print/scan/ID-photo counter. Best for: diversified rent risk and serving the residential population above 7 days a week, especially the migrant-worker tenant cohort (laundry + courier are essentials).
Which to pick?
| scenario | fit-out cost (est.) | annual rent | tenant risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| A · Restaurant | ¥1.2 – 1.6M (kitchen heavy) | ¥240–320k | single tenant · high failure rate |
| B · Grocery | ¥0.7 – 1.0M (shelving + cooling) | ¥180–260k | single tenant · low failure rate |
| C · Mixed bays ★ | ¥0.9 – 1.2M (3 fits + party walls) | ¥210–290k | 3 tenants · diversified · matches resident demand |
Recommendation: mixed bays. The restaurant has the highest absolute rent ceiling but the highest failure risk and biggest fit-out outlay (kitchen extract + grease trap + license). The mixed-bay model spreads risk across 3 small leases AND captures the on-site residential tenant base — every renter on L2 / L4 / L5 will use the laundromat and courier counter. Café + convenience give the building a "neighborhood corner" feel that lifts residential rent.
L3 — Office floor
L3 program
| zone | area | capacity | notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| North open office | ~170 m² | 16 desks (4 pods of 4) | N + W + E gap windows · best daylight zone |
| South open office | ~135 m² | 16 desks (2 pods of 4 + collab) | S frontage windows · close to reception |
| Meeting room (small) | ~7 m² | 6 people | between W stair and elevator · interior |
| Meeting room (large) | ~21 m² | 12 people · video conf | south of cores · oval table |
| 2 phone booths | ~2 m² each | 1 person | east of elevator · 1-on-1 calls |
| WC (M + F) | ~5 m² each | — | stacked over L2 + L1 wet walls |
| Reception + waiting | ~15 m² | — | south frontage near elevator landing |
| Break / pantry | ~10 m² | — | tea, fridge, counter, microwave |
| Total desks | 32 | ~10 m²/desk gross — typical CN office density |
Tenant fit: L3 office targets a single mid-sized employer (~25–32 staff) — engineering services, software, design studio, trading company. Industrial mixed-use Zhongshan zoning permits office use; many factories in the area sublet office floors to suppliers, agents, and back-office tenants. Single-tenant lease is operationally simpler than splitting into co-working memberships, though both are viable.
Building stack — proposed full program
| floor | use | units / capacity | page |
|---|---|---|---|
| L5 | Holiday rentals (mirror of L2) | 8 units | — |
| L4 | Holiday rentals (mirror of L2) | 8 units | — |
| L3 | Office (open + meeting) | 32 desks | this page |
| L2 | Holiday rentals + monthly leases | 8 units | /kent2 |
| L1 | Commercial — mixed bays | 3 tenants (café · convenience · services) | this page |
| Total | 24 residential keys + 32 office desks + 3 commercial tenants | ||
Building pro forma — full stack (L1 + L2 + L3 + L4 + L5)
Roll-up of fit-out cost and stabilized NOI for the entire 5-floor building, Zhongshan industrial mixed-use zone. Shell + structure + cores existing and free; only fit-out, FF&E, and floor-specific MEP in budget. CNY (¥), late 2025 / early 2026 rates.
| floor | use | fit-out | annual gross | opex | annual NOI | floor cap rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L1 | Commercial — 3 mixed bays café · convenience · service hub |
¥1,000,000 | ¥250,000 | −10% | ¥225,000 | 22.5% |
| L2 | Residential — 8 units hybrid 4 Airbnb corners + 4 monthly mids |
¥1,983,000 | ¥270,750 | −28% | ¥194,000 | 9.8% |
| L3 | Office — 32 desks single tenant or sub-let to 2–3 |
¥1,400,000 | ¥165,000 | −20% | ¥132,000 | 9.4% |
| L4 | Residential — mirror of L2 8 units hybrid |
¥1,983,000 | ¥270,750 | −28% | ¥194,000 | 9.8% |
| L5 | Residential — mirror of L2 8 units hybrid |
¥1,983,000 | ¥270,750 | −28% | ¥194,000 | 9.8% |
| BUILDING TOTAL | ¥8,349,000 | ¥1,227,250 | ¥939,000 | 11.2% |
| headline metric | value |
|---|---|
| Total fit-out cost | ¥8,349,000 ≈ US $1.16M |
| Annual gross revenue | ¥1,227,250 ≈ US $170k |
| Annual NOI (stabilized) | ¥939,000 ≈ US $130k |
| Building cap rate (NOI / fit-out) | 11.24% |
| Simple payback | 8.9 years |
| 10-yr cumulative NOI (flat rates) | ¥9.39M → fit-out fully recovered |
| 10-yr cumulative NOI (3% / yr growth) | ¥10.77M |
| Per-floor avg NOI | ¥187,800 |
| Per m² annual NOI (450 m²/floor × 5 = 2,250 m²) | ¥417 / m² / yr |
Building parti reads as: the residential floors (L2 + L4 + L5) anchor the deal with ~62% of NOI from the most resilient asset class. L1 commercial throws off the highest cap rate (22.5%) because the fit-out is light relative to rent, but it's the most volatile line — single-tenant failures hit hard. L3 office is the marginal floor — solid cap rate (9.4%) but the smallest NOI contribution and most exposed to economic cycles.
Sensitivity — what could move the building NOI
| variable | downside | base | upside | NOI Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residential occupancy (L2/L4/L5) | 40% | 55% | 70% | ±¥96k |
| L1 commercial rent | −25% | base | +25% | ±¥56k |
| L3 office vacancy | 50% empty | 0% | 0% | −¥66k |
| Construction overrun | +15% (¥9.6M) | ¥8.35M | −5% (¥7.93M) | cap 9.8% / 11.8% |
| Local 民宿 ban (Airbnb illegal) | all-monthly | hybrid | — | NOI → ¥793k (cap 9.5%) |
Worst credible case: Airbnb ban + L3 office half-empty + L1 grocery tenant default mid-year. Stabilized NOI drops to ~¥670k, cap rate 8.0%, payback 12.5 years. Still cash-positive. Upside case: Airbnb 70% occupancy + full L3 lease + L1 rent +15%. NOI ¥1.06M, cap 12.7%, payback 7.9 years.
Capital strategy
| scenario | cash needed | year-1 cash-on-cash | notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100% equity | ¥8.35M | 11.2% | simplest, no leverage risk |
| 50% LTV @ 5.5% interest | ¥4.17M | ~17% | ¥229k/yr interest, NOI cushion 4.1× |
| 70% LTV @ 5.5% interest | ¥2.50M | ~22% | ¥321k/yr interest, NOI cushion 2.9× |
| Phased: L1 + L2 only first | ¥2.98M | 14.1% | defer L3/L4/L5 until L2 stabilizes |
Phased build recommendation: commit L1 + L2 in year 1 (¥2.98M, ~14% cash-on-cash on the smaller base). Use year-1 cash flow + observed L2 occupancy data to underwrite L4/L5/L3 in year 2. This caps year-1 capital risk at ~36% of total stack while still deploying the most cash-generative floors first.
Open questions
- L1 ceiling height — restaurant kitchen needs ≥3.0 m clear for hood; verify shell.
- L3 mechanical: 32 desks at 100 W heat load each → ~3.2 kW sensible cooling. Plus 1 kW per meeting room. Mini-split VRF system OK; one outdoor unit on roof.
- Grocery cold cases need a dedicated condensing unit + drain pan piped to the L1 collector — coordinate with the kent2 drainage stack layout.
- Office L3 wet walls (WCs + pantry) should align vertically with the L2 unit wet walls so the central spine drainage stack continues straight down — verify in the L3 plan that WC positions match.
- Mixed-bays Bay 1 café espresso machine + Bay 3 laundromat are heavy power draws. Confirm building service capacity or upgrade incoming feed.