The building your are talking about sounds exactly like the building I owned. It was in a complex of six buildings, all "Business Condos". I bought one thinking it was a great idea, and still do, but after my business died down I couldn't justify having it. Using as a business property was the only way I could justify it. Even now I run my business out of a 30'x50' pole building in my back yard that i couldn't afford if it was only used to work on my stuff.

In my line of business we have to consider all kinds of scenarios where someone could be hurt while using an industrial machine we build controls for. There are studies and tools to use to judge the risks in a design. Still, I've heard of stories where some idiot figured out a way to circumvent a safety feature and got horribly injured. My main customer just got over a court settlement that cost him $100K for an injury by someone who crawled over a safety fence around a machine and got his arm mangled. The funny thing he got dragged into the situation for a machine he helped design the control system over twenty years ago while working for a now defunct business he was an employee of, not even in a management position.

I some times wonder if some of these people sit around and contemplate how much a finger or some other body part is worth and then cause a situation to injure themselves so they can file a injury claim. I just can't imagine allowing someone to raise their vehicle on a lift, someone who has never used a lift. When I installed my lift I had my nephew, who had experience as a professional mechanic using lifts for years, come to my shop and go over the entire unit showing me the proper way to use it. We must have spent over an hour going over the proper use of it.

 

I don't see the risk/reward factor as being favorable. Just my opinion, but you did ask.

 

Yes, I did