How is the grossing factor defined?

• A. Usable area divided by rentable area.
• B. Rentable area divided by the usable area.
• C. Net lettable area divided by gross area.
• D. Total building area divided by the number of occupants.

Answer: (B)

The concept here is how space is allocated for leasing: usable space is what the tenant can actually use, while rentable space includes a share of the building’s common areas. The grossing factor is the ratio of rentable area to usable area. It tells you how much larger the rentable space is compared with what the tenant can use. Multiply usable area by this factor to get rentable area. For example, with a usable area of 2,000 square feet and a grossing factor of 1.25, the rentable area is 2,500 square feet. The grossing factor is related to the load factor: load factor = (rentable − usable) / usable, and grossing factor = 1 + load factor.