I have a property from the 80s in the city center that's kind of abandoned. A colleague suggested turning it into a coworking space, but I'm scared to sink a lot of money into it without knowing if it's actually a viable business. How complicated is it to renovate an old building for that? Do you need special permits or expensive structural changes?
Most buildings from the 80s need work on electrical systems, HVAC, and connectivity, which are exactly what a coworking space demands, so yeah there's going to be heavy investment there. Permits depend on your municipality and whether you're changing the zoning (from residential to commercial, for example), which almost always requires an activity license and accessibility upgrades. What I'd recommend is getting an honest technical assessment before you decide anything - an architect will tell you what's broken, how much it costs to fix, and whether the structure can handle what you need. That said, a coworking space in the city center can definitely be viable if the neighborhood has demand and the numbers work out, but it all comes down to how deteriorated the building is and how much you actually have to invest.
What's going to make or break your investment is validating first whether the district where the property is located allows use changes from residential to commercial, because some municipalities are really strict about that and they'll block your project right from the start. Once you've got that green light, the renovation stuff (electrical work, broadband internet, climate control) is expensive but manageable and you can do it in phases as the business gets going. What really hurts though is that old buildings sometimes have moisture issues, structural problems, or access issues that aren't visible to the naked eye, so before you commit to budgets, get a proper inspection done.
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