Structured cabling
A modern office carries a substantial amount of structured data and communications cabling. Where it serves communications equipment rather than the building, it is generally 5-year personal property.
On a 60,000 square foot multi-tenant building this single category is frequently six figures of basis, and it is almost never broken out on an acquisition schedule because nobody sees it.
The parking field
The second surprise. Owners think of the lot as land. It is not — paving, base, striping, curbing, storm drainage, sidewalks and pole lighting are depreciable land improvements at 15 years, fully bonus eligible.
The rest of the fit-out layer
Dedicated circuits and panels feeding server and equipment rooms, decorative and accent lighting, carpet tile and removable flooring, reception millwork and casework, demountable partitions, security and access control, tenant signage, window treatments, break room appliances and their dedicated plumbing.
What stays
Foundation, structural frame, curtain wall, roof, elevators, base building HVAC including chillers and cooling towers, core plumbing and restrooms, general electrical service and life-safety systems. All genuinely 39-year property, and no honest study moves them.
Typical range
16% to 26%. Class A buildings with heavy tenant fit-out and generous surface parking sit at the top; urban towers with structured parking and minimal site sit lower.
Vacancy and re-tenanting
Office owners repositioning space generate qualified improvement property with every build-out, and dispose of the previous tenant's improvements in the process. Both sides of that are claimable and both are commonly missed. A fixed-asset review alongside a repositioning programme frequently finds more than the study costs.
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