What is a Floor Plate in Commercial Real Estate?
Floor plate is a term that indicates the amount of square footage that can be leased on each floor of a commercial building. Due to structural considerations, in high-rise buildings, floor plates on lower stories are typically larger than floor plates on higher stories.
In addition to referencing the total leasable area of a floor, floor plates are often indicated by shapes. Floor plate is most commonly used in office properties, and sometimes in retail, as these asset classes are often leased on a per square feet (PSF) basis. Floor plate is more rarely used in multifamily properties, as these are leased on a unit basis, though PSF rental calculations, and thus floor plate, may still be a salient factor.
Floor Plate Example
For example, a six-story office or retail property could have the first three stories with rectangular floor plates with 15,000 square feet of gross leasable area (GLA) each. In contrast, the top three floor plates could be square and possess 10,000 square feet of GLA each.
Floor Plate vs. Gross Leasable Area (GLA)
While floor plate is an indication of the gross leasable area and shape of one floor of a commercial building, gross leasable area generally refers to the entire leasable area of the building itself. Gross leasbale area is slightly different than other floor area calculations, such as net leasable area, gross floor area, and gross internal area, each which represent a slightly different calculation of the floor space of a commercial property and are used for different purposes. For example, tenants are usually charged by gross or net leasable area, while gross floor area often is used for municipal zoning regulations and tax levies.
Floor Plate in Construction vs. Commercial Real Estate
While in commercial real estate, floor plate refers to the shape and gross leasable area of a specific floor of a building, it is sometimes used in a different capacity in the construction industry. In a construction or architectural context, floor plate often refers to the assemblage of materials that constitute the flooring, including flooring joists (floor reinforcers), general floor structure, and subflooring and finish flooring material (such as wood, tile, carpet, or concrete).