Hinman Co. turns former furniture store into retail center

Kathy Jennings | Thursday, January 23, 2014

The story of 5475 Beckley Road in Battle Creek, once an empty storefront for a former furniture showroom, can be told best by looking at the before and after pictures.

A flat, nondescript building at the corner of Beckley Road and Riverside Drive that was easy to drive by without noticing it has been redeveloped to an eye-catching retail center, now named Minges Shoppes.

The property stood empty for at least three years when the Hinman Co. came up with a plan that would allow it to be redeveloped in way that made more economic sense than tearing it down the property and putting up a new building. The company purchased the property from Furniture Row USA, LLC, in May 2013 and work shortly began on the facelift for what was once known as Furniture Row.

The property was attractive due to its location on a corner with a traffic signal in a strong retail corridor. It came with a number of challenges, however. The building and related parking were sized for a furniture store.

Usually, a retail center is about 50- to 80-feet deep. The building on the Beckley Road property was 140-feet deep. And while parking was sufficient for a small number of customers and handful of employees who worked at Furniture Row, it was not adequate for a retail center.

To accommodate the needs of a multi-use strip center Hinman worked with the City of Battle Creek to create parking on the Riverside Drive side of the property. With that parking in place Hinman was able to take the approximately 4,500-square-foot building that had housed one retailer and turn it into one with spaces for seven suites.

A new facade and large sign added the "wow" factor to the retail center that previously was lacking. New lighting, roof, restrooms, sidewalks and mechanicals--plumbing, electrical, and heating and air conditioning were all part of the project.

Three suites already are taken. Sprint and Sleep Doctor are now open. Comerica Bank, whose space is currently under construction, expects to be open by this summer. Tenant build-outs will continue as leases are signed. "Our goal is to have the center 100 percent leased by the summer of 2014," says Anmar Atchu, vice president of marketing and leasing at Hinman.

The project is one of a number of redevelopment projects the Hinman Co. has undertaken in Battle Creek, including the Battle Creek Tower, 70 W. Michigan; Capital Shoppes, 2550 Capital Avenue SW; and the K2 Building, 67 W. Michigan.

In the '90s, the Hinman Co. acquired its first property in Battle Creek and since then has redeveloped 400,000-square-feet of property in the city. Part of what has made that possible, Atchu says, is the collaboration and strong relationship the company has developed with the City of Battle Creek and Battle Creek Unlimited, the economic development arm for the area.

"Hinman made a commitment to Battle Creek years ago to help redevelop the area and create more opportunities," says Atchu. "We are extremely proud of what we’ve accomplished and with the continued relationship between the City of Battle Creek and Battle Creek Unlimited, we will continue looking for ways to collectively make Battle Creek a better place to work, live and play."

Writer: Kathy Jennings, Second Wave Media
Source: Anmar Atchu, Hinman Co.

Images:

The new Minges Shoppes at Riverside Drive and Beckley Road in Battle Creek.

Before: The building from its Furniture Row days.

After: The redeveloped building.

Plans show space for further tenants at the redeveloped shopping center.

Hinman Co. turns former furniture store into retail center

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