Reagan Marketing infuses vacant buildings with new life, new future along Grand Rapids' Wealthy St.

Reagan Marketing + Design is busy these days. Besides being a semi-finalist in Ernst & Young 2011 Entrepreneur of the Year (Michigan and Northwest Ohio) and garnering top honors as the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce Woman-Owned Business of the Year, the 20-year-old company is infusing nearly $1M of new life in three vacant buildings that include 900, 912 and 916 Wealthy St. SE.

A tour of the buildings revealed light-hued workspaces filled with natural daylight, unobstructed views of Wealthy St. in front and what will be a spacious veggie/flower garden in the rear, a back porch break area for Reagan Marketing's 23 employees, and historic details like original terrazzo floors and smooth tile walls. A far cry from the days when the buildings were homes for Wealthy Heights Printing, Hoekstra Printing, Indian Trails Candy Company and a couple different gas stations.

"We want to keep as many of the original elements as possible," founder Mary Reagan Shapton said in a voice raised just enough to be heard above the whine of concrete saws and hammering. Husband Bob Shapton, owner of Engine Industrial Design which will move into the former gas station at 900 Wealthy, grinned with enthusiasm over the renovation which will include a woodworking shop for his product and furniture design business.

Reagan Shapton says she began working with the Historic Preservation Commission many months ago, even before plunking down the $250,000 for the building. She's also enlisted the help of Past Perfect to keep as much of the renovation as historically accurate as possible while employing sustainable practices, like, installing a white roof and repurposing some former Douglas fir ceiling beams as a staircase.

"It's huge that a small business would have the opportunity to do this," she says. "We couldn't have done it without a lot of help. We've applied for historic tax credits, the city worked with us on getting an environmental cleanup grant, we got an SBA loan and worked with Founders Trust Bank. The whole thing has been an exciting process. We've used our space at 820 Monroe NW to the fullest and this new space will really help us grow and work more effectively."

Reagan Marketing will move in July 1. Engine Industrial Design moves in mid-July. Both companies will finish construction details over the summer with an open house planned for late summer.

Architect: Lott3Metz Architecture
Construction Management: Wing Construction

Source: Mary Reagan Shapton, Reagan Marketing + Design
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor