Every family business needs somewhere to work. Maybe it is an industrial building with trailers backed to the docks, a suite of offices, or a retail storefront. Possibly your company is new, and for a time, the location is a spare bedroom or your garage. The address may change as the enterprise grows, but the need for a place to conduct business does not.

For a family-owned manufacturing or distribution company, that address can become much more than a place of business. It is where your employees report each morning, raw materials arrive, finished products leave, and decisions are made that affect the livelihoods of people who have been with you for years. Over time, the building can become one of the family’s most significant assets.

I grew up in a family business and have spent my commercial real estate career advising folks like you. More on that in a moment. That combination has given me an appreciation for decisions about buildings. They rarely occur in isolation. You may need more space, but the money needed could buy machinery or fund an expansion. A building may have appreciated, but the family members who own it may disagree about whether to keep it. A real estate question is often a business or family question.