Industrial real estate glossary

Short, plain-English definitions of the terms that come up when you lease, buy, or build warehouse space.

Clear height

The usable height inside a warehouse, measured from the floor to the lowest hanging object, like a beam, light, or sprinkler. It decides how high you can stack racks.

Dock-high

A loading setup where the warehouse floor sits at about trailer-bed height, roughly 48 inches, so forklifts drive straight into trailers. Full guide.

Grade-level door

An overhead door at ground level that lets vehicles drive into the building. Also called a drive-in door.

Dock leveler

A plate at a dock door that raises or lowers to bridge the gap between the warehouse floor and a trailer bed.

Truck court

The paved area in front of the loading doors where trucks maneuver and back in. Its depth decides how easily a tractor-trailer can get in and out.

Column spacing

The distance between the interior support columns. Wider spacing gives more flexible rack layouts. Often written like 50' x 50'.

Speed bay

A wider row of column spacing next to the loading doors, giving forklifts more room to stage and move goods.

ESFR sprinklers

Early Suppression, Fast Response sprinklers. A ceiling sprinkler system designed to put out fires quickly, often letting users store goods high without sprinklers inside the racks.

Cross-dock

A building with loading doors on opposite sides, so goods can come in one side and go out the other with little storage time.

Rear-load

A building with loading doors on one side only.

Industrial outdoor storage (IOS)

Land used mainly for parking or storing trucks, trailers, containers, or equipment, usually with a small building or none.

Tilt-wall construction

A building method where concrete walls are poured flat on site and then tilted up into place. Common for modern warehouses.

Flex space

A building that mixes office space with warehouse or light industrial space, often with grade-level doors.

3PL

Third-party logistics. A company that stores, packs, and ships goods for other businesses.

Last-mile facility

A warehouse close to dense neighborhoods, used for the final leg of delivery to customers.

Infill

Industrial property inside an already built-up area, close to population and roads. In South Florida, most of it is older and hard to replace.

NNN lease (triple net)

A lease where the tenant pays base rent plus its share of property taxes, insurance, and common area maintenance. Common for industrial property.

Modified gross lease

A lease where some operating costs are included in the rent and others are paid by the tenant. The split varies by lease.

CAM

Common area maintenance. Shared costs like landscaping, parking lot upkeep, and exterior repairs, usually split among tenants.

Cap rate

A property's yearly net operating income divided by its price. Buyers use it to compare investment value.

Sale-leaseback

A deal where a business sells the building it uses and leases it back from the new owner, freeing up cash while staying put.

High-Velocity Hurricane Zone (HVHZ)

The part of Florida's Building Code that covers Miami-Dade and Broward counties, with the strictest wind and impact rules in the state.

Notice of Acceptance (NOA)

A Miami-Dade County product approval showing a door, window, roof, or other product meets High-Velocity Hurricane Zone standards.

Certificate of Use (CU)

A local approval some South Florida governments require before a business can operate at a location.