Hinman Redevelops Former Battle Creek Furniture Row Building
January 15, 2014 
5475 Beckley Road, now known as Minges Shoppes, has been given a facelift by the Hinman Company. This is one of four Battle Creek buildings that have been given a major overhaul in the past three years by Hinman.
The former Furniture Row building, located at the corner of Beckley Road and Riverside Drive, sat vacant for years before it was eventually purchased by Hinman in May of 2013 from Furniture Row USA, LLC. According to Anmar Atchu, vice president of marketing and leasing at Hinman, “we had been considering this opportunity for a number of years. The site itself is located in a great retail corridor and had a lot of potential with it being on a hard corner with a traffic signal.”
The site came with its share of challenges. Hinman desired to turn the single-tenant building into a multi-tenant retail strip center. As it sat, this building had an unconventional, multi-tenant retail depth of 140’ (the average depth of a retail strip center tends to be 50-80’ deep) and there was a lack of parking to support a multi-tenant strip center. Aesthetically, the building’s exterior was outdated and in need of a major facelift.
The solution to these challenges was unique. Hinman worked with the City of Battle Creek to create additional parking off of Riverside Drive. With more parking added, the building’s depth was creatively utilized by constructing two suites with frontage along Riverside Drive. The remaining frontage along Beckley was split into five more suites, bringing the total number of suites to seven.
To add curb appeal and visibility, the façade was completely revamped and a large pylon sign was added to the site. Other changes to the property included new building mechanicals, lighting, roof, restrooms, and sidewalks.
Renovations began in Spring of 2013 and were recently completed. All space planning, design, and construction was performed by Hinman.
New tenants include Sprint and Sleep Doctor, who are now open, and Comerica Bank, whose space is currently under construction, and is anticipated to be open by this summer. Tenant build-outs will continue as leases are signed. “Our goal is to have the center 100% leased by the summer of 2014,” Atchu said.
Other notable and recent Hinman redevelopment projects are the Battle Creek Tower (70 W. Michigan), Capital Shoppes (2550 Capital Avenue SW), and the K2 Building (67 W. Michigan).
“Hinman made a commitment to Battle Creek years ago to help redevelop the area and create more opportunities,” said 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.”
