After more than a year of searching, we’ve finally found a great building, large enough to accommodate our entire operation under one roof. At nearly 14,000 sqft, it is the space we’ve dreamed of for more than 10 years. The space is perfect EXCEPT it’s next to the transitional housing facility, city sanctioned tent city, the soup kitchen, and the food bank. We’re an auction house and our customers would come to the facility to drop of their consignment items and to pick up their winning bids.
I’ve thought about electronic access with fencing to the street with gates, but will that be enough to deter them? Am I making a horrible decision with my life savings?
This is a bad idea. There is this ‘pastor’ in downtown that converted an apartment building to a homeless shelter. It’s a literal sty. Routinely shut down by the city for code violations. Lots of vagrants always around. Drugs, fighting, prostitution. Friend bought a condo in a neighboring building. Tried to persuade her against it. But they touted fenced secure parking. Code to front door of bldg. All the security and amenities.
It was terrible. Homeless would slip in as parking gate was open. Her car was broken into multiple times inside the secured parking area. Literally every time she did a ‘quick’ park job on street in front of bldg her car was broken into. They’d Break code lock on front door so the door wouldn’t lock. Drug use and aggressive behavior inside her ‘secure’ bldg.
Don’t do it. It’s no way to treat your employees.