A Tale of Two Retails
Developing McCabe Crossing and Furniture Fair Home Furnishings
In 1985, the intersection of Fields-Ertel and Montgomery Roads in Symmes Township was little more than a sleepy country crossroad. Montgomery Road was there, but Fields-Ertel ended at Montgomery, and turned north for a short distance, ending at what is now Meijer’s.
Fast forwarding to today shows the Fields-Ertel Road area as one of the most highly developed retail locations in the tri-state. Leading the explosion in development was a series of improvements and extensions to Fields-Ertel Road that took place during the early to mid 1990s.
Long before the Fields-Ertel transformation, McCabe Lumber had established roots in the area with its thriving lumber business, dating back to 1970, followed by the 1985 addition of McCabe Do-It Center, a hardware store.
According to Jim Tepe, Sr., of Robert McCabe Real Estate Group, the idea for converting the lumber and hardware spaces into a retail center began taking shape in 1992, about the time that the first Fields-Ertel Road improvement was under construction. “That was part of our master plan,” says Tepe. “We knew the road was going in, so the idea was to move in the direction of retail.”
In 1996, McCabe put the plan in motion by adding 35,000 square feet to the lumber business, bringing the total square footage to 60,000. Although the addition served to expand the lumber business, the intent was to create space for the future possibility of retail use. Kiesland was hired to build the much-needed expansion.
In 2001, when McCabe Lumber outgrew its 60,000 square feet, the company knew it was time to relocate the lumber business, freeing up the space to become the high-image retail location Tepe had envisioned it to be.
“We were so pleased with the job that Kiesland did on our 1996 expansion, we called them back to help us develop the lumberyard into McCabe Crossing, a 68,000-square-foot retail strip center, and to create a freestanding 70,000-square-foot building for Furniture Fair,” comments Tepe.
There were significant challenges in turning a lumberyard into a modern, multi-tenant retail strip. First, a detention basin had to be relocated on the site, meaning that 50,000 cubic yards of dirt had to be moved, followed by filling in the original basin site. This difficult aspect of the project took place during the winter, as did construction of McCabe Crossing and Furniture Fair.
Tepe says, “Kiesland was excellent. We were impressed with the caliber of their personnel, their willingness to get involved in all details of the project and their ability to work with us through lots of mid-stream design changes.”
Labeled a Success
World-class expansion for Avery Dennison
Avery Dennison, a global leader in pressure-sensitive technology, is probably best known for its self-adhesive consumer and office-based labeling systems. A Fortune 500 company with offices worldwide, Avery Dennison embarked on an expansion program for its Graphics Media Division office located in Hamilton, Ohio.
Once the decision was made to expand at the existing location, the company aimed for 48,000 square feet of new manufacturing/warehouse space, and chose to create a new type of environment in the 12,000 square feet of office space. Vic Sitasuwan, process engineer and 6 Sigma Black Belt, says, “In the manufacturing area, we went world class to attract new business to Avery Dennison and to be a role model for other company locations. For the office space, we opted for a flexible, open floor plan.”
According to Sitasuwan, the company selected Kiesland to handle this major expansion because of its reputation and experience in warehouse design and construction. “Our warehouse required strict climate control, sophisticated electrical work, and floor flatness standards and Factory Mutual requirements that exceed building code,” he explains. “The office space called for underslab electric installed throughout to facilitate future floor plan changes. References we got on Kiesland attested to their ability to handle this type of work with the level of professionalism and quality we required,” continues Sitasuwan.
As the project progressed, Kiesland responded promptly to numerous changes in the building plans and still met the timeline prescribed by Avery Dennison. Sitasuwan says, “In the end, Kiesland delivered on all of its promises. We are very satisfied.”
In Good Taste
Cooler/freezer warehouse on tight site for Givaudan Flavors
If you eat ice cream, yogurt, snacks, soups, cereal, chewing gum or chocolate, and wash it down with fruit juices or soft drinks, chances are you’ve tasted products by Givaudan Flavors. Headquartered in Switzerland, this leading maker of flavorings and fragrances creates and manufactures its products in facilities across the globe, including several in the Cincinnati area.
The Carthage site needed a specialized 5,700-square-foot cooler/freezer warehouse to store flavoring compounds. Specifications called for this facility to be added on to an existing warehouse and designed to accommodate hazardous, flammable materials.
The new cooler/freezer addition was divided by a wall into two sections: a cooler area designed to maintain 40 degrees F, plus or minus 3 degrees; and a freezer area to maintain 0 degrees F. The addition was to be built and in use before the freezer area in the existing warehouse could be retrofitted into another cooler area through the installation of new refrigeration equipment.
Kiesland was selected to handle the job. First, the company had proven expertise from the recent construction of other cooler/freezer facilities, namely Tropicana Products’ Midwest Distribution Center and the American Foods Group’s meatpacking plant, both located in Cincinnati. In addition, Kiesland had the know-how to install a sophisticated foam sprinkler system in the existing Givaudan warehouse, which was extended into the attached new facility.
Besides the tight specifications for construction of the warehouse, there were other challenges. The job site was within an existing Givaudan complex, leaving very little space to squeeze in the new warehouse. Also, Givaudan has highly stringent security and safety guidelines to protect the integrity and confidential nature of its products. Rich Hughes of Kiesland says, “All of our onsite employees and subcontractors attended a class that outlined Givaudan security and safety requirements. Furthermore, no subcontractors were allowed on site without our direct supervision.” According to Givaudan, Kiesland was the first builder it had ever worked with who respected the critical importance of its security requirements and implemented steps to enforce them.
