7.5 Benson Enterprises, Inc., is evaluating alternative uses for a three-story manufacturing and warehousing building that it has purchased for $225,000. The company could continue to rent the building to the present occupants for $12,000 per year. The present occupants have indicated an interest in staying in the building for at least another 15 years. Alternatively, the company could modify the existing structure to use for its own manufacturing and warehousing needs. Benson’s production engineer feels the building could be adapted to handle one of two new product lines. The cost and revenue data for the two product alternatives follow.

The building will be used for only 15 years for either product A or product B. After 15 years, the building will be too small for efficient production of either product line. At that time, Benson plans to rent the building to firms similar to the current occupants. To rent the building again, Benson will need to restore the building to its present layout. The estimated cash cost of restoring the building if product A has been undertaken is $3,750; if product B has been produced, the cash cost will be $28,125. These cash costs can be deducted for tax purposes in the year the expenditures occur.
Benson will depreciate the original building shell (purchased for $225,000) over a 30-
year life to zero, regardless of which alternative it chooses. The building modifications and equipment purchases for either product are estimated to have a 15-year life; also, they can and will be depreciated on a straight-line basis. The firm’s tax rate is 34 percent, and its required rate of return on such investments is 12 percent.
For simplicity, assume all cash flows for a given year occur at the end of the year. The initial outlays for modifications and equipment will occur at t 0, and the restoration outlays will occur at the end of year 15. Also, Benson has other profitable ongoing operations that are sufficient to cover any losses.
Which use of the building would you recommend to management?

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Initial cash outlay for building modifications Initial cash outlay for equipment Annual pretax cash revenues (generated for 15 years) Annual pretax cash expenditures (generated for 15 years) $ 36,000 Product A Product B $ 54,000 144,000 162,000 105,000 127,500 60,000 75,000