46
Michigan Retailer
www.retailers.com
Fond memories will remain after former HQ is gone Continued from page 1
the market and caught his attention. Edward Jones, a gift store owner and MRA board chairman at the time, summed up the decision to buy 221 North Pine Street simply: “The former facilities had outgrown their purpose and this opportunity came along and we grabbed it.” “It was a time of significant growth for the association and we also wanted room to expand,” Meyer added. “When we bought the property we employed 15 people. Within a decade we had close to 40 employees. The 221 building was the foundation from which we could build the organization.” Moving on The organization’s growth during the 1980s and ’90s into the nation’s largest state trade association of general merchandise retailers brought back the space problems of the past. MRA staff began working in several properties next door and around the corner from 221. When MRA relocated to its current headquarters building southeast of the Capitol in 1999 — in order to bring everyone back under one roof and accommodate future growth — the 221 North Pine Street building was rented out as office property.
At first the Association was able to find tenants, but as the economy deteriorated and the Lansing office market weakened, it became more and more difficult to lease. As the building aged, the minor inconveniences turned to major problems — most recently an “antique” boiler system that burst. Replacing the system before winter was pegged at more than $25,000. “The costs to maintain an old, vacant building became increasingly expensive and, with the broken boiler, asbestos abatement issues and other problems, the Board of Directors and management made the decision to take it down,” said Hallan. “It was the right decision, but not an easy one to make,” he added. A property committee appointed by the board to look into the costs of further renovation and repair versus demolition advised the board this past summer to take the later tack. The board then voted to have the building razed. At press time, work was expected to be completed in October or early November. “The 221 building served us well, with its easy access to the Capitol and on-site parking, but, unfortunately, its
Offer Gift Cards, Increase Sales.
useful life had ended,” said Hallan. Memories remain Jean Sarasin, MRA executive vice president and chief operating officer, recalled many milestones the association celebrated in the 221 building: the first month of $1 million in merchant sales through the credit card processing service (MRA now processes more than $2 million a day); the conversion from paper sales drafts to electronic processing; and implementing the Qantel computer system that allowed staff to move accounting and membership services from manual processes to computer. After the decision was made to buy the 221 house, an engineering firm was contracted to study how best to renovate it for MRA’s needs. An engineer told Meyer that “when you take on an old building like this, what you do is put piles of money sacks in each corner and as the general contractor needs some, he’ll just grab one.” “Well…that sort of worried me,” quipped Meyer. So he and a board member, John Bunday, put on carpentry aprons and took on the renovations themselves. Bunday, who was an owner of Bunday Furniture in Lansing, is a talented
800.366.3699
wood craftsman, while Meyer developed his construction skills growing up on a farm. For six months Bunday and Meyer invested a significant amount of sweat equity and got the building ready for occupancy. The renovations were extensive, including lowering the floor in the basement to accommodate the print shop and adding several support walls. “We were a growing small business so we thought it was important to control costs and save the organization money,” said Meyer. “Back then it was a stretch to go from leasing to owning,” explained Hallan. “Many people — particularly John Bunday and Larry Meyer — put in a lot of extra hours and personal toil to give MRA an ownership footprint.” Move-in occurred in 1983. The renovations had readied the building for staff, but the structure was far from perfect. As is typical with Victorian architecture, it featured several “choppy” rooms and the walls had settled into the soft soil so that in certain parts of the building the floors were several degrees off level. “A pencil would never stay on your desk. You had to wedge it under something or it would roll off,” recalled Hallan. Hallan joined MRA in 1985 as general counsel just as a second renovation to the building — the addition of a boardroom and more office space — was underway. For 10 weeks he and two other employees shared an office. He then moved into what was once the home’s formal dining room. “It had four doors entering into it and was sort of a walkway, which made ensuring privacy a challenge,” he joked. Historical value Mementos and materials of historical value, including a metal MRA logo that was imbedded in the boardroom wall and unique, Victorian-era plumbing fixtures in the building’s bathrooms, are being removed and preserved, Hallan said. MRA continues to rent out several residential and office properties next to and near the 221 building. “Our investment in the buildings in the area has been good for the neighborhood,” said Hallan. “We’ve made a lot of improvements there — we renovated aging former houses, added lighting, created open spaces, — and we’re going to continue to be good stewards of the neighborhood.” Jean B. Eggemeyer is a freelance writer and communications consultant. She worked for the Michigan Retailers Association from 1994-1999 and enjoyed her years of service in one of the refurbished Pine Street properties.