12B — March 24 - April 13, 2017 — 2017 Walter R. Cohn, Esq. Memorial EXPO — Owners, Developers & Managers — M id A tlantic Real Estate Journal www.marejournal.com 2017 W alter R. C ohn , E sq . M emorial EXPO Accounting firm moves into Allentown’s Butz Corporate Center & unveils its new offices Corporate office space designed to impress clients and keep employees happy
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hen Matthew Sear- les was looking for office space for his
South Whitehall and ride the wave of new businesses moving downtown. He chose the Butz Corporate Center at Ninth and Hamilton for its modern and sophisticated feel. The CPA firm wanted to reinforce the quality and experience of the growing firm and also create an enjoyable office environment in an exciting location. “There is an ever-expanding business environment in Allentown, many cultural events, restau- rants, entertainment and we felt that we wanted to be part of the excitement,” said Searles. After the accounting firm
settled on the Butz Corporate Center, he identified three business suites encompassing 6,000 s/f on the 3rd floor. Two of the suites previously had tenants, and the third suite was unfinished. Matt needed help on the office fit out including space planning, interior archi- tecture and achieving the vibe he was seeking. The office fitout project included a modification to the plan they had, to work within budget and achieve his envisioned office environment. Not knowing how to find an interior designer, he talked to trusted business associ-
ates whose office interiors he admired. “As luck would have it, a few of them who I asked recommended DesignPoint. My partners and I also visited some clients’ offices I had always liked, and we also found out that they were also designed by Les McCoy and the team at DesignPoint,” remarks Sear- les. “All indications pointed to DesignPoint, and I’m so happy that I called them. Although we were near “the midnight hour” with respect to our design deadline, Les and his staff were able to quickly meet with us to discuss our feelings about the
type of image we were hoping to present, and reduce our vision to a draft set of plans.” Challenge Searles had a vision for the style and function of his of- fice, but he was unsure how to achieve it. Searles explains that he wanted a contemporary office space with an urban feel to impress clients and make his 20 employees proud of their work environment. Part of the modern feel of the office was to have natural light filtering throughout the entire office including the office spaces away from the windows, generous hallways, open-rafter ceilings and warm color schemes. The layout of the existing office suites did not lend themselves to accomplishing that goal. Ad- ditionally, the interior design aspects of the office, including furnishings, fixtures, and other details that Searles was finding were not the exact fit he was seeking. Searles had a strong vision for what he wanted but did not ultimately know how to achieve it or what the appropri- ate budget should be. Solution The first order of business for the DesignPoint team was to identify the needs of the ac- counting firm and to establish a budget. “Helping clients estab- lish and work within budgets is something that we commonly do,” said McCoy. “And in this particular instance, working with budgets was something our client was also very famil- iar with.” “Once the needs were iden- tified and the budget was in place,” said McCoy, “we were able to work on space plan- ning and floor plan modifica- tions. Getting natural light to penetrate the entire office was challenging.” DesignPoint recommended internal glass for partitions, walls and doors. They also widened some cor- ridors and created recesses in corridors to open up space for light. Additionally, they opened up walls and created ceiling effects. DesignPoint even assisted with the selection of the office furniture, finish selections, paint colors, floor- ing, ceiling, wallcoverings and custom millwork. Sea r l e s , imp r e s s ed by DesignPoint’s selections, also sought their input on some of the other creative aspects to the CPAs’ business including logo, branding and marketing mate- continued on page 16B
growing ac- counting firm, MillerSear- les LLC, he k n ew t h a t he wanted to have a great location and an impressive office for his clients and business associates to visit. Mr. Searles and his partners decided to move and relocate to downtown Allentown from Les McCoy
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