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Cell Towers
Interim and Ancillary Uses
Can You Hear Me Now?
“Fewer than five percent of properties are good candidates for cell towers,”
says Ken Schmidt, president of SteelintheAir.com, a cell tower consulting company.
“Wireless carriers spend significant money and resources designing their
systems around very specific radio frequency engineering standards and often
target specific geographic locations.”
Housing a cellular tower may be an option for your brownfield if:
• There are no other towers within a half-mile for urban sites or one
mile for suburban sites.
• The property is located in a densely populated area or within a half-mile
of a major highway and has high daytime traffic.
• Local zoning allows cell towers (more likely with commercial and industrial
areas).
The rates you can get by leasing property vary, depending on how desirable your
location is. There are no up-front costs — the lessee handles everything
from construction to insurance. In general, you can earn:
• Urban sites: $1,000 — $2500/mo
• Suburban sites:$600 —$1500/mo
• Rural sites: $200 — $1000/mo
Another option is to build your own tower at a cost of $200,000 to $250,000
for a typically-sized tower. The advantage is that you can then lease to multiple
tenants — as many as 4–6 in some areas. Towers with 1.6 or more
tenants can turn a profit. Keep in mind that most jurisdictions do not allow
spec towers so you would need to have it leased before you build.
If you are interested in finding out if your property would be a good site,
contact your local wireless service carriers or consider hiring a site manager.
Be prepared: it can be a difficult process to navigate and negotiate.