5/14/14Duluth Trading Co. to be first tenant in Mount Horeb 'innovation center'
May 14, 2014
By Jeff Glaze | Wisconsin State Journal
A growing Duluth Trading Co. will be the first tenant in a repurposed office, meant to serve as an “innovation center” in downtown Mount Horeb.
The space, at First and Main streets, was most recently occupied by a BMO Harris Bank branch that closed last year. The building was purchased by Duluth Trading Co. owner Steve Schlecht with the idea of using it temporarily to alleviate crowding at the company’s Belleville offices, and then eventually renting it to a group of smaller businesses.
Brad Murphy, Mount Horeb Economic Development Corp. executive director, said he approached Schlecht about the property last fall. He encouraged Schlecht to buy it because of its proximity to Duluth Trading’s flagship store across the street and said the EDC could help fill any empty space.
Schlecht, he said, told him that he was already seriously considering buying the building and moved on the acquisition shortly after. He has since decided that Duluth Trading needs all of the space but expects the company to grow out of it in a few years.
“In a way, Mount Horeb gets the best of both worlds. We get an innovation center in the downtown that’s going to be full on day one. And long-term, it’s going to be available for either startups or others,” Murphy said. “The slant here is on creative, innovative kinds of businesses — where the people would enjoy and benefit from rubbing shoulders and sharing ideas as well as resources.”
Duluth Trading and the Mount Horeb EDC have applied for a Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. grant to help pay for up to $250,000 in renovations, which will begin on the building this spring. When the building is completed this fall, it will have a mix of open workstations and large meeting rooms, an atrium and other modern amenities.
“This building, I think it could safely be said, is somewhat blighted. It has been mostly vacant for quite a number of years,” Murphy said. “It’s been underutilized and that’s why it makes sense from the state’s perspective to support this kind of redevelopment.”
Duluth Trading, which has 125 salaried employees, will move 70 to 80 jobs from its Belleville offices to the Mount Horeb site, said Stephanie Pugliese, president and CEO of the company.
“What we’re looking to do is create a collaborative environment for our product and creative teams,” she said, adding that with both call and distribution centers located in Belleville, the company has no plans to move from the area.
“We definitely see a long-term commitment in both Belleville and Mount Horeb,” she said.
Should Duluth Trading outgrow the location in a few years, Murphy said he sees Mount Horeb’s proximity to agriculture, university research and Epic Systems as a potential selling point to biotechnology companies or companies run by “Epic alumni.”
“We think that a certain number of those would find the Mount Horeb area appealing, especially nice, but relatively inexpensive downtown space,” he said.
May 14, 2014
By Jeff Glaze | Wisconsin State Journal
A growing Duluth Trading Co. will be the first tenant in a repurposed office, meant to serve as an “innovation center” in downtown Mount Horeb.
The space, at First and Main streets, was most recently occupied by a BMO Harris Bank branch that closed last year. The building was purchased by Duluth Trading Co. owner Steve Schlecht with the idea of using it temporarily to alleviate crowding at the company’s Belleville offices, and then eventually renting it to a group of smaller businesses.
Brad Murphy, Mount Horeb Economic Development Corp. executive director, said he approached Schlecht about the property last fall. He encouraged Schlecht to buy it because of its proximity to Duluth Trading’s flagship store across the street and said the EDC could help fill any empty space.
Schlecht, he said, told him that he was already seriously considering buying the building and moved on the acquisition shortly after. He has since decided that Duluth Trading needs all of the space but expects the company to grow out of it in a few years.
“In a way, Mount Horeb gets the best of both worlds. We get an innovation center in the downtown that’s going to be full on day one. And long-term, it’s going to be available for either startups or others,” Murphy said. “The slant here is on creative, innovative kinds of businesses — where the people would enjoy and benefit from rubbing shoulders and sharing ideas as well as resources.”
Duluth Trading and the Mount Horeb EDC have applied for a Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. grant to help pay for up to $250,000 in renovations, which will begin on the building this spring. When the building is completed this fall, it will have a mix of open workstations and large meeting rooms, an atrium and other modern amenities.
“This building, I think it could safely be said, is somewhat blighted. It has been mostly vacant for quite a number of years,” Murphy said. “It’s been underutilized and that’s why it makes sense from the state’s perspective to support this kind of redevelopment.”
Duluth Trading, which has 125 salaried employees, will move 70 to 80 jobs from its Belleville offices to the Mount Horeb site, said Stephanie Pugliese, president and CEO of the company.
“What we’re looking to do is create a collaborative environment for our product and creative teams,” she said, adding that with both call and distribution centers located in Belleville, the company has no plans to move from the area.
“We definitely see a long-term commitment in both Belleville and Mount Horeb,” she said.
Should Duluth Trading outgrow the location in a few years, Murphy said he sees Mount Horeb’s proximity to agriculture, university research and Epic Systems as a potential selling point to biotechnology companies or companies run by “Epic alumni.”
“We think that a certain number of those would find the Mount Horeb area appealing, especially nice, but relatively inexpensive downtown space,” he said.
