What is a commercial real estate stacking plan?
A commercial real estate stacking plan is a floor-by-floor diagram of a multi-tenant building that shows, at a glance, who occupies what — tenant by floor, square footage, lease expirations, and vacancy. It turns a dense rent roll into a single visual an investor or leasing team can read in seconds, making rollover risk, vacancy, and leasing opportunity immediately obvious.
For office and other multi-tenant assets, the stacking plan is one of the most useful exhibits in an OM — it shows the income story spatially, the way buyers actually think about a building.
What a stacking plan reveals
Color-coded by expiration or status, a stacking plan surfaces the things that drive value: concentrated lease rollover, vacant floors, near-term expirations, and where leasing effort should go. It pairs directly with the lease abstracts and financial model behind the deal, giving the numbers a spatial form.
Inside a stacking plan: what's on one
A clean stacking plan reads top to bottom like the building itself.
Floors & tenants
The building stacked floor by floor, with each tenant placed and sized.
Square footage & expirations
SF per tenant and lease expirations, the inputs to rollover risk.
Color coding & legend
Status shown in color — vacant, expiring, secure — with a clear legend.
Stacking plans by asset class
Multi-tenant office is the classic use; multi-tenant retail and industrial benefit equally where tenancy and rollover matter. BTS Brands designs stacking plans across every multi-tenant asset, consistent with the OM and analysis on the deal.
How to make a stacking plan, step by step
- 1
Gather tenancy
Rent roll and floor-by-floor data.
- 2
Lay out the floors
Stack the building floor by floor.
- 3
Place tenants
Who occupies what, with square footage.
- 4
Code the status
Color by expiration, vacancy, or status.
- 5
Add the legend
Make the coding instantly readable.
- 6
Brand and export
Brand it; export print- and web-ready stacking plans for the rent roll and the pitch.
Managing a multi-tenant building? Send the rent roll to the BTS pathways and we'll build a stacking plan that shows occupancy at a glance.
Common stacking plan mistakes
- Color coding with no legend
- Missing expirations or square footage
- Floors out of order or mislabeled
- Too much data crammed into the diagram
- No tie to the lease abstracts behind it
How BTS Brands builds stacking plans
We turn a rent roll into a clear, color-coded commercial real estate stacking plan that makes a multi-tenant building's income and risk obvious inside an OM or pitch. Our background spans national brokerages and investment firms, so the plans show what buyers and leasing teams look for. We work as an extension of your team, with flexible hourly and per-package pricing.
Frequently asked questions
What is a stacking plan?
A floor-by-floor diagram of a multi-tenant building showing who occupies each floor, lease terms, and vacancy at a glance.
Who uses stacking plans?
Owners, leasing teams, and investors who need to see tenancy, rollover, and available space in one clear visual.
Can you keep it updated as tenancy changes?
Yes. Built as a template, a stacking plan is quick to refresh as leases roll and space fills.