Your Mezzanine is an Opportunity Cost

Mezzanines are often seen as simple space savers. If your floor is packed and your ceilings are high, why not build up and buy yourself some breathing room?

It’s a logical move, and in many cases, a necessary one. But here’s what often gets overlooked: every mezzanine is a commitment of real estate, labor, capital, and layout. And every square foot you dedicate to a mezzanine is a square foot you can’t use for something else.

In that light, the true question is “What could be the best use of this space?”

The mezzanine myth: “free” space

It’s easy to treat mezzanine square footage as a kind of free bonus. After all, you’re building into “unused air,” right?

Not exactly. A mezzanine is a real investment. You pay for structural steel, load ratings, decking, egress, lighting, sprinklers, installation, permits…the list goes on. More importantly, you limit future options once it’s installed. Mezzanines are hard to reconfigure, even harder to relocate, and often inflexible when your needs shift.

That makes them more than just space. And if you’re only using them for bulk storage or low-value overflow, you might be spending a lot to get very little.

Read more: How to specify your mezzanine project

When mezzanines become dead zones

There are facilities where mezzanines become forgotten islands. They collect unused equipment, slow-moving pallets, or serve as awkwardly placed office space that adds no real operational value. That’s missed opportunity in addition to unused space.

That same square footage could be accelerating order flow, supporting pick modules, hosting light assembly zones, or helping separate pedestrian and forklift traffic. Instead, it becomes a dust collector. This is the definition of opportunity cost: every mezzanine use comes at the expense of what could have been there instead.

Not all mezzanine uses are created equal

When planning mezzanines, many facilities prioritize what fits instead of what drives value. It’s worth pausing to ask: how is this space contributing to throughput, safety, labor efficiency, or future flexibility?

Consider the contrast:

• A mezzanine dedicated to static storage adds capacity but likely not speed.
• A mezzanine integrated into a conveyor takeaway system opens up the floor and increases flow.
• A multi-level pick module on mezzanine structure boosts pick density and labor utilization.
• A returns processing zone placed upstairs separates messy workflows from main floor operations.

You can simply use a mezzanine to increase space, but examples like these add possibilities.

Read more: Options for pick modules

What else could that airspace do?

This is where a well-designed mezzanine earns its keep. Could it help you isolate noisy processes? Support a third shift without expanding your building? Run conveyor lines overhead to free up aisles below?

Why, the answer is yes to all of those, as mezzanines do all that and more. On the flip side, they could block automation paths, interfere with lighting or HVAC, and become major headaches when new systems are installed. What makes the difference is leaning into purposeful design to unlock more out of the solution. Really, the most effective mezzanines are planned as part of the flow in addition to the footprint.

Smart space is about velocity

Warehouse performance doesn’t come from how much stuff you can store. It comes from how quickly, safely, and accurately you can move product through the building.

That’s where mezzanines can shine, or stall. If they’re improving throughput, supporting process flow, or opening up automation potential, they’re earning their spot. If they’re just giving you a place to stack pallets, they’re probably underperforming their cost. So before you sign off on that next mezzanine, ask more than “How much can it hold?” Ask, “What can it unlock?”

Evan Fleishacker