Development News

ICON Creative Tech buys Ann Arbor Art Center annex

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

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Ann Arbor

Creative people have inhabited 220 Felch for years but the type of creatives are changing now that ICON Creative Technologies Group has bought the building from the Ann Arbor Art Center.

The single-story structure, a block west of Main Street just north of downtown, served as an annex for the Ann Arbor Art Center, which has its headquarters in the heart of downtown. ICON plans to slowly-yet-steadily renovate and move into the space. The idea is to establish a bigger home for the 14-year-old Internet firm, which is about to burst at the beams at its current office.

The company has 20 people at its 3,500-square-foot office on State Street in downtown. It expects to grow its staff to 60 people within five years. The 11,000 square feet of 220 Felch gives the company more than enough room for that growth.

"As we continue to grow, we don't want to be confronted with space issues every few years," says Rob Cleveland, CEO of ICON Creative Technologies Group. "With this footprint, we can easily accommodate our 5-year-growth plans and open up other opportunities for services that we previously were not able to provide to our customers."

ICON will occupy 6,000 square feet of the space this year, allowing a few of the building's tenants to stay on for the time being. Some of the space will also be leased back to the Ann Arbor Art Center so it can finish its classes through June.

Purchasing 220 Felch gives ICON a bit of a port in the financial storm these days. Rents in downtown Ann Arbor have been steadily increasing and the other costs have swung violently. The addition of 220 Felch gives ICON a dependable and controllable overhead cost while giving the company enough space to expand.

Source: Sara Johns, project manager for ICON Creative Technologies Group
Writer: Jon Zemke

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