Page 13 - Scene Magazine 42-06 June 2017

Annual Report
Schweitzer Inc. invests in downtown Battle Creek with renovation of historic building to become their corporate headquarters.
BY DREW SCHWEITZER, VP-COO & TOM BEUCHLER, Pres.-CEO
Battle Creek commercial construc- tion company, Schweitzer Incorporated, has recently begun extensive renovations to the facility previously owned and oc- cupied by Norman Foods, located at 86 South Division Street. The building was originally constructed in 1922 for the Taylor Produce Company. Schweitzer Inc. purchased the 90,000 sf building in the fall of 2015, and it will become their corporate headquarters.
Schweitzer’s current plans are to occu- py the first floor of the four-story structure as their corporate office and the attached warehouse for their various trade divisions. The second, third and fourth floors will be reserved for future office-space tenants. This move will more than double their stor- age space and triple their office space.
President and CEO, Tom Beuchler, stated, “The City of Battle Creek and many of its local businesses and institu- tions have been very loyal to Schweitzer Construction since it was founded by John J. Schweitzer 55 years ago. The company is now in its third generation of ownership since its conception. Andrew (Drew) Schweitzer and I began looking at various downtown properties over three years ago because we had outgrown our current office and wanted to support the city’s revitalization mission. We have been involved with many downtown im- provement projects in recent years and are glad to be adding to the momentum through the rehabilitation of this facili- ty.” Beuchler added “The City of Battle Creek has been very helpful in this tran- sition. They toured the building early on and helped us navigate through some of the challenges of acquiring an old vacant property. This included code compliance reviews, assisting with certain tax cred- its that were available, historic classifi- cations, vacating a dead-end roadway as well as purchasing additional property from MDOT for an added parking lot.”
Battle Creek City Manager, Rebecca Fleury stated, “The City of Battle Creek
is honored to welcome Schweitzer Con- struction to downtown Battle Creek. Their commitment to Battle Creek can be seen in the many projects they have successfully completed in our communi- ty. So many people and places they have touched only makes it more special to have them locate in the heart of our cen- tral business district, bringing new life to an old building.”
Vice President and COO, Drew Sch- weitzer, visited the Norman property in 2015 and could visualize its potential. Schweitzer stated, “We are pleased that we are able to bring this vacant and dete- riorating building back to life and restore a part of Battle Creek’s history.” Drew collaborated with numerous consultants to develop the vision, preservation, space planning, and design for the renovation of the original 1922 building. Schweitzer plans to keep the building’s original char- acter, including exposed brick walls and wood beams.
Schweitzer added, “We are proud to
Proud to be a part of the downtown Battle Creek revitalization.
make this commitment to the community we’ve been serving for 55 years. Battle Creek is our home, and our team is look- ing forward to moving downtown into this historic space. We plan to have our steel division and portions of our paint division continue to work at our current facility in Pennfield Township.”
Schweitzer Incorporated employs up to 85 field personnel who specialize in carpentry, general trades, steel fabrica- tion and erection, millwright services, painting/blasting and industrial coatings, as well as general labor/support services. They also employ 14 full-time staff mem- bers in project management, pre-con- struction, safety, administrative, and cler- ical roles.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the of- fice renovation and site improvement phase is anticipated for mid-June. Drew indicated that the company hopes to move into their corporate offices in August but acknowl- edges that, “Our project will take a back seat to those of our loyal customers.”
Construction Management Design & Build Construction General Contracting Concrete & General Trades Millwright Services
Painting & Blasting
Steel Fabrication & Erection Miscellaneous Services
Taylor Produce circa 1925
Norman Foods circa 2015
Artist’s rendering
of exterior renovations.
9807 Bellevue Road • Battle Creek, MI 49014 • 269-963-1579 • www.schweitzerinc.com
CITY ISSUE I SCENE 4206 13