Mills went from 3,461 residents in 2010 to 4,034 in the 2020 census, and the Town of Mills now runs its own Building and Inspections, Planning and Zoning and Public Works departments. A town that size, next to a metro with a refinery, an airport and a rail yard, is where small-bay industrial space gets rented by contractors, parts suppliers and light assemblers who need a door, a shop and a yard without a plant-sized lease.
We build flex light industrial space for owners who want a building that more than one kind of tenant can use. That means a front office or showroom, a rear shop with an overhead door, a clear height that fits shelving or a small crane, and enough parking out front that customers do not park on the street. The plan has to work for a tenant you have not met yet, so we keep the demising walls, utilities and doors flexible.
Casper has seen its share of boom and bust, and flex space is the building type that handles it best. A single bay that sits empty is a small problem. A 100,000 square foot spec building that sits empty is a large one. We would rather help you build eight good bays than one large bet.
Flex buildings pull in a wide mix: trades with a shop and a truck, oilfield service firms that need a small yard and a parts room, distributors that want a counter and a pallet rack, and light assembly shops that need three-phase power and floor drains. Some of these tenants overlap with owners who want a full warehouse later, and a well-planned flex project can be the first phase.
Others edge toward production. If a tenant starts running real equipment, the building starts to look like a manufacturing plant, with heavier slabs, bigger power and exhaust. We design flex space with a margin for that jump, such as extra conduit and a thicker slab at the rear bays, because retrofits cost more than the margin.
Bar Nunn grew about 35 percent between 2010 and 2020, and the town sits on WYO 254, the old US 87 alignment that runs from Mills past Bar Nunn to the Wardwell Road interchange at exit 191. North of town, Westwinds Road opened as exit 194 on October 5, 2018. Each new exit puts another parcel within a short drive of the interstate, which is the main thing a flex tenant cares about.
Our pages on Mills and the north Casper I-25 corridor describe those areas in more detail. We look at three things on any parcel: access for a service truck, how far water, sewer and power sit from the lot, and whether the zoning allows the mix of office, shop and outdoor storage you plan.
The package begins with a site plan that puts the parking and truck access where tenants can use them. Each bay gets its own electrical meter or sub-meter, a water and sewer stub, a gas or electric heat source, restroom, an overhead door and a man door. Demising walls are rated as the code requires and built so a bay can be combined with its neighbor later.
The shell is typically a pre-engineered metal building with a masonry or metal-panel front, because it goes up quickly and costs less than the alternatives. We add a slab designed for forklift traffic, clear height of around 16 to 24 feet depending on use, and glazing at the office end. Our flex light industrial construction service details how we run that package.
Flex projects work best when they are phased. We build the site utilities, the pavement and the first set of bays, then add more as leases are signed. That keeps capital working and keeps the project from being a bet on one big absorption number. The utilities and drainage are sized for the full site from the start, so later phases connect without tearing up the first.
Each phase follows the season. Grading, utilities and footings go in during the open months, steel arrives on a lead time we order against early, and tenant finish happens inside a closed building through the winter. We tell owners which bays can be turned over to a tenant first, so rent can start while later bays are still under construction.
Cost per square foot falls as a building gets larger, since the site work, the end walls and the utility runs are shared. But the cost per bay depends on finish level. A bare shell bay with a slab and a door is cheap. A bay with an office, restroom, HVAC and lighting costs more, and some owners prefer to finish only after the lease is signed.
Utilities are the biggest swing item. A parcel that already has water, sewer and power at the street costs far less than one that needs a long extension. We include a utility allowance in every budget and we confirm distances with the town before we promise a number.
We keep three things flexible: the walls, the power and the doors. Walls between bays are non-bearing wherever the structure allows. Each bay gets a generous electrical panel, and the main service is sized for the full project. Overhead door openings are framed for a larger door in case a tenant needs one.
Owners and property managers also care about maintenance. We choose durable finishes, accessible roof drains and mechanical equipment that a small crew can service. A flex building with a short repair list keeps its tenants longer.
Send us the parcel, the number of bays and the tenants you expect. We will lay out a phased plan and a budget range.
Common bay sizes run from about 1,200 to 3,000 square feet, but the right number depends on who you expect to rent. We lay out a mix, with a few small bays and a few that combine, so you can respond to demand.
Yes. We build the shell, slab, utilities and demising walls first and leave the interior finish for later. That reduces your upfront cost and lets the tenant influence the layout.
Water, sewer, electric and gas or electric heat for each bay. Three-phase power is often the deciding factor for light industrial tenants, so we confirm its availability with the utility before buying land.
Yes. The Town of Mills runs its own Building and Inspections and Planning and Zoning departments, and Casper has its own permit process. We work with whichever jurisdiction the parcel sits in, and we confirm its adopted codes first.
A single building on a ready site goes up faster than most commercial types, mainly because of the metal frame. The steps that set the pace are permit review, utility extensions and steel delivery.