Tag Archives: Steelcase Pyramid

Switch Getting Ready to Build as Bills Await Gov. Snyder’s Signature

Hard News, Local Business, Tech Trends, , , , , ,

Switch Pyramid campusAfter news broke that data storage giant Switch was looking to buy the old Steelcase pyramid building, and bring with it 1,000 jobs to the area within 10 years, the excitement permeated throughout not only West Michigan, but the entire state! One of the giants in the data storage industry, the Google of data storage if you will, was looking to make a home right here in West Michigan. A whole new industry looking to establish roots in the Great Lakes State.

However, things never go as smoothly as planned. Switch had one holdup before they were willing to make a home in Gaines Township, a tax break for data storage centers. After breaking a stalemate in the House late on Tuesday, the Senate signed off on the bills exempting data centers from sales and use taxes through 2035 if the industry meets job creation goals.

The bills are now waiting for Governor Rick Snyder’s signature to be put into effect.

Pyramid 1While the tax breaks were requested by Switch, they apply to all data centers in the state. The tax exemptions end if the collective data center industry doesn’t create at least 400 new jobs by 2022 and 1,000 new jobs by 2026.

Switch will move into the pyramid building at 4100 60th St. SE, a building that has been vacant since 2010. The building was purchased back in May by Norman Properties LLC. The company plans to use the site to build a 2 million-square-foot “SuperNap” data center.

It’s not just the tech industry that will see an influx in West Michigan, but also local businesses buoyed by Switch’s capital and economic impact. The company has a planned an initial $400 million construction budget and anticipates spending over $2 billion over the next decade. That money and business will be used primarily on local subcontractors.

The jobs created, and pay-rolled by Switch, are sure to bring a jolt to the local economy as well. Minimum wage for SuperNap jobs start at $15 per hour, plus benefits. Salary for a majority of the data center jobs pays between $60,000 and $200,000.

For a company with clients that include eBay, Sony, Boeing, Google, and Amazon to choose West Michigan as a major host site is an exciting opportunity to some, but for Gaines Township Supervisor Don Hilton Sr. it’s business as usual.

Steelcase Pyramid Interior“We’ve worked with many businesses before, and this one will be handled no differently. As of now, we haven’t received any requests from Switch,” stated Hilton who isn’t being caught up in the hoopla surrounding a new business coming into the area. When you’ve been on the job for 23 years like Hilton has, it’s all about the next step in the process.

With a new company also comes new employees who need a place to live. Gaines Township has vacant land available for real estate expansion and Hilton wouldn’t be surprised to see land developed as time goes forward.

“There are a lot of variables, but common sense says yes. With more people comes more demand for homes and real estate.”

Switch has its eyes on the old Steelcase Pyramid

Local Business, Our Cities, Tech Trends, , , , , ,

PyramidBy: Mike DeWitt

It’s truly a stunning facility. A seven-story, 670,000-square-foot, research facility shaped like a pyramid. Even the ancient Egyptians would be envious.

Much like the Egyptian pyramids, the $111 million building commonly known as the Steelcase Pyramid–it acted as the company’s headquarters since the building’s inception in 1989–has been a tomb since 2010. A massive slab of granite and architectural beauty sitting on 125 acres of property just looking for a purpose.

Enter Switch, a data company that intends to purchase the pyramid and build a $5 billion SUPERNAP data center on its campus.

Switch Pyramid campusThe 2-million-square-foot data center would be the largest in the Eastern United States. The inland location of the pyramid places the data center within millisecond protocols of major markets without the risk of natural disasters that come with having a facility on the coastline.

“SUPERNAP Michigan will be 2 milliseconds from Chicago and 14 milliseconds from New York,” said the company’s announcement. “The prime campus locations have low millisecond access to the largest people hubs in the U.S. without being burdened with the high power prices, taxes, and earthquake/hurricane risks associated with those cities.”

There’s one potential hangup here with Switch moving into the pyramid, and it has to do with taxes. No building has been sold, no one has been hired, and nothing has been signed until Michigan legislature is wiling to give data centers a tax break.

West Michigan legislators introduced three bills in the Michigan House and Senate last week. Rep. Ken Yonker from Caledonia is leading the charge.

Pyramid 3The purchase of the pyramid would be a huge boon for technology and information economic development in West Michigan. Switch not only brings a wealth of big name companies in its client base including Google, Amazon, eBay, Time Warner, Sony, Dreamworks, Shutterfly, and Boeing, but the new data center would also bring 1,000 new jobs within ten years.

If the purchase is finalized, jobs will be created, economic and technological development will be brought to the area, and one of West Michigan’s most unique buildings has a purpose once again.

“This is the most amazing building I have ever seen,” explained property manager Jim Faunce to WKTV back in August after moving from Colorado to head the project. “I am in total awe of it!”

So are we, and it’ll be an honor to see the building put to use once again.

The Saga of the Steelcase Pyramid

Local Business, Our Cities

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrbA11QoQVw

colleen_piersonIt’s an icon, a landmark and a true beauty.  Steelcase’s seven-story pyramid shaped research facility sits on 125 acres of property.  It is definitely one of a kind.

When the building– located at 6100 East Paris Ave.– first opened in 1989 the cost was $111 million. In 2009, Steelcase announced it would be moving its workforce of 500 employees from the pyramid to its 44th Street location.

So, what happens now to this gem of a pyramid?

At one point there was talk of demolishing the vacated 670,000 square-foot building. Other plans included housing a specialty school.

Those plans have been abandoned as new owners enter the picture.

Land Developer Don Roger Norman of Reno, Nevada recently purchased the building for an undisclosed amount.

We had a chance to sit down with  Jim Faunce, the newly appointed property manager, and Tom P. DeBoer, Broker for Colliers, Inc. to share their insights on the project.

“This is the most amazing building I have ever  seen,” said Faunce who just moved here from Colorado to head the project. “I am in total awe of it.”

It’s easy to be in awe and take in the wonder of 16-foot ceilings, the only spherical compound pendulum in the world, full service cafeteria/kitchen, media production facilities, sound proof rooms, exterior balconies and miles of granite.

“We have had interest of numerous companies to lease.  It is 1.5 million just to hold the building.  We are working on cosmetic upgrades, monitoring the mechanical, redoing the parking lot and stabilizing the building so it runs effectively,” DeBoer explained.

That could come in with a price tag of five million.

But for everyone involved with the building, it is well worth it.