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Shared corridor between tenants

benjamin_flight

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Joined
Mar 14, 2022
Messages
6
Location
Huntsville, Alabama
Hey folks, I'm working on a commercial business project where there will be two tenants in the same building. The project will be infilling an existing shell space for a new tenant. Tenant #1 owns the building and has had free, unencumbered access to the two restrooms shown. They are leasing space to Tenant #2. As you can see, this will cause issues with access to each others' space. My thought is that each door (1, 2, and 3) will all need card readers and door hardware on timers with alarms. Worst case scenario, someone forgets their card and has to exit the corridor by using the hardware on a timer and setting off an alarm. This corridor is not necessary for egress from any of the tenant spaces.

Any suggestions or ideas? Are card readers and hardware on alarm timers the only way to deal with this situation?

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The corridor may not be required for egress from either tenant space but it IS required for egress from the toilet rooms, and from the common corridor itself. There MUST be at least one exit access path from the common space that is available at all times and not locked against egress.
 
Hey folks, I'm working on a commercial business project where there will be two tenants in the same building. The project will be infilling an existing shell space for a new tenant. Tenant #1 owns the building and has had free, unencumbered access to the two restrooms shown. They are leasing space to Tenant #2. As you can see, this will cause issues with access to each others' space. My thought is that each door (1, 2, and 3) will all need card readers and door hardware on timers with alarms. Worst case scenario, someone forgets their card and has to exit the corridor by using the hardware on a timer and setting off an alarm. This corridor is not necessary for egress from any of the tenant spaces.

Any suggestions or ideas? Are card readers and hardware on alarm timers the only way to deal with this situation?

View attachment 14583
You should probably hire an architect. "Alarm timers"? Delayed egress? You could put in a delayed egress with fob access that shunts the alarm but then you also need a fire command center.

I would check to see that you need two bathrooms. You may be able to have a single bathroom for each space. Otherwise, you need an egress path from the bathrooms to the exterior without locks. It's not just about a fire event, you can't lock people into a space at any time, fire or not.
 
Great solution, and at only twice the cost!
I hear you, but look at the proposed alternative: Twice the cost compared to what? A super-complex security system, the is questionable in terms of both code compliance and practical operation, probably needing battery backup, defaults to open in event of fire alarm, etc.? Where’s the value to the tenants, and the rent that it would command over time?
Imagine the receptionist giving detailed fob instructions to every visitor using the restroom, hoping they remember which door they entered through, etc.
They already will have plumbing infrastructure in the general vicinity. Barring the single-restroom solution described above, yes 4 restrooms are more expensive to initially construct, but from a property management / tenant amenity standpoint, it will pay off.
 
This corridor is not necessary for egress from any of the tenant spaces.

Is a restroom an occupied portion of a building? They are excluded from net floor area. Is this really a "corridor"

[BE] CORRIDOR. An enclosed exit access component that defines and provides a path of egress travel.

[BE] EXIT ACCESS. That portion of a means of egress system that leads from any occupied portion of a building or structure to an exit.

Worst case scenario, someone forgets their card
Make the access available from the tenant space and into the restroom by card reader/FOB then they won't be abled to get locked in.
 
Is a restroom an occupied portion of a building? They are excluded from net floor area. Is this really a "corridor"

[BE] CORRIDOR. An enclosed exit access component that defines and provides a path of egress travel.

[BE] EXIT ACCESS. That portion of a means of egress system that leads from any occupied portion of a building or structure to an exit.


Make the access available from the tenant space and into the restroom by card reader/FOB then they won't be abled to get locked in.
It's definitely a corridor.

You can't have any locks on the egress path. AFOB is a key.
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