With the help of a new Brownfield Redevelopment designation, the former Lincoln Brick and Stone office at 1222 Burton Street SE will soon be the 6,000-square-foot corporate headquarters of Steel Supply and Engineering. Construction on a 12,000-square-foot addition to SS&E’s Miscellaneous Metals manufacturing facility will begin next month with the demolition of two outbuildings.
The Lincoln Brick property is adjacent to SS&E’s factory located at 2020 Newark SE. Tallgrass Properties, LLC, a company owned by SS&E’s owner Jeff Dean, purchased the 2.6 acres in April, bringing the total acreage to 5.6 acres. Lincoln Brick relocated last month.
“The City and the State have been very cooperative,” said Jim Polonczyk, CFO of Armada Group, the parent company of SS&E. “As part of the Brownfield, we received a single business tax credit and tax increment financing availability on site work.”
That site work includes increasing storm water retention capacity to handle all the storm water on-site, and adding decorative fencing to a portion of the property’s perimeter.
Half of the office space will be corporate headquarters for SS&E’s facilities in Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, and Indianapolis. Miscellaneous Metals will use the other half for their office space and other needs.
SS&E plans to supply 67.2 tons of their structural steel for construction of the factory addition. The plan calls for 20-foot ceilings and inside crane access to the various work stations used to manufacture steel stairs, railings, and ladders.
“We’re currently providing 23 floors of steel stairs and railings for the JW Marriott project downtown,” Polonczyk said.
Once the expansion is completed, Polonczyk expects the factory to increase its output significantly enough to add 5 office jobs and 15 shop and field jobs.
Architectural design by Greg Metz of Lott3Metz Architecture. Wolverine Building is the general contractor. Atwell Hicks is the environmental consultant and civil engineer.
Source: Jim Polonczyk, Armada Group
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.