A lease signed quietly in May of last year clinched the
deal for a new Atwell-Hicks corporate headquarters
at 500 Avis Drive.
“This is the keystone of
the Park,” according to Trish Kalmback, president of Avis Farm Research &
Business Park, which is located on State Street about a mile south of I-94. She
notes they have built the two-story building on State Street frontage which is
their last available parcel of land. Atwell-Hicks, already an Avis Farms tenant,
will move into the new building this month from quarters they have outgrown at
540 Avis Drive, about a block west of the building.
Features Covered Parking
Ten covered parking spaces are included in addition to the
surface spaces. At first blush this appears to be an executive perk, but it was
driven principally by Pittsfield Township’s parking ratio requirements. The
footprint of the first floor is smaller, and the second floor cantilevers over
it on two sides to provide the necessary parking.
The Heil Partnership (architects) and J.S. Vig Construction
Company designed and built the 27,000 square foot building. Site work began last
spring, and steel was erected over the summer. Kalmbach would not disclose the
actual lease rate, but pointed out that Colliers International’s asking rate
for the building was $16.50 per foot, triple net., including a tenant buildout
allowance.
The project management and technical staff members will occupy the second floor
together.
Dramatic Growth Projected
“Work in the commercial and retail segments accounts for
most of our growth,” says President and CEO Robert Macomber. Company revenues
increased twenty-four per cent in 2001, and Macomber is projecting a twenty-five
percent increase in employees (currently eighty-five people) over the next
twelve months. The company was also awarded the Fast Track award (2001) from the
Washtenaw Development Council last year in recognition of its dramatic growth.
Originally a surveying firm, which was founded a hundred years ago, Atwell-Hicks
also offers civil engineering, land planning and environmental services – such
as the Phase I environmental inspection many lenders require. Burgeoning
telecommunications requirements are also bringing an abundance of business from
telecommunications providers, most of whom need engineering assistance for their
underground conduits and cable runs.
New Avis Traffic Light?
It doesn’t sound like much. Unless you are one of the
1,750 people working at Avis Farms every day. But now that Avis Drive’s
entrance has been aligned with Morgan Road across State Street, the Michigan
Department of Transportation is poised to add traffic lanes and install a
traffic signal on this State Street intersection. State Street will be widened
to four lanes at this intersection; and Avis and Morgan Road will each have
three lanes. Left turn lanes in all four directions will be provided in hopes of
speeding workers through the intersection. Trish Kalmbach’s estimate is that
the light will be installed in May, 2002.
Avis South Poised
Pittsfield Township has granted site plan approval for
Avis South, a 180-acre office and research park at State Road and Textile Road.
The Avis organization has completed the infrastructure for Phase I – which
will take as much as 180,000 square feet of development. Phase II infrastructure is being put in place now on 50
acres, and it could take up to 450,000 square feet. Based on current market
trends, Avis Farms says it expects to construct buildings of 100,000 square feet
apiece, or larger.
For More Information Contact:
Bill Milliken, CCIM
Milliken Realty Company
100 Huron View Blvd.
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
Tel: 734-821-4321
Fax: 734-821-4322
Internet: info@millikenrealty.com
Property listing data is based on information believed accurate & reliable. However, accuracy is not guaranteed.
Copyright © 2005 Milliken Realty Company
info@millikenrealty.com
