Development News

Schoolpictures.com moves into new Ypsilanti home

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Ypsilanti

This story originally ran: 8/12/2009

All roads lead to Ypsilanti, at least they do for Schoolpictures.com. And the web-based start-up is coming toward the end of a long road now that it is moving into its new headquarters next to Eastern Michigan University.

"We are moving," says Skip Cerier, president of SchoolPictures.com. "We are in the process of packing."

Schoolpictures.com took over the old Ave Maria University campus, turning the old elementary school into a silver LEED building. The renovated structures will house 41 people in about 21,000 square feet of space.

"We took a 60-year-old building that easily could have been bulldozed," Cerier says. "We're saving millions of BTUs by saving this building."

He's not only saving it but planning to expand it. While renovating the campus' main building, he built in enough support to add a second level. That is meant to facilitate the growth spurt Cerier expects his firm to go through in the near future.

"I did that anticipating growth because I don't want to move again," Cerier says.

With that in mind, Schoolpictures.com is taking a long-term view with the renovation project through a combination of recycling, energy efficiency and alternative energy practices. For instance, construction workers recycled 78 percent of the debris from the project.

Cerier also put in a number of energy efficiency extras, such as special blinds that significantly up the R-value of the windows. The firm is also installing green roofs on the two main buildings and renovating a 1864 Victorian home into a place for meetings and to entertain potential clients. A large wind turbine could also be in the building�s future next year.

Source: Skip Cerier, president of SchoolPictures.com
Writer: Jon Zemke

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