News

Aug 15, 2023

American Seating moving to former Steelcase property

GRAND RAPIDS — American Seating Co. is securing permits to relocate its longtime

GRAND RAPIDS — American Seating Co. is securing permits to relocate its longtime manufacturing operation and offices from Grand Rapids’ west side to the former Steelcase campus on the city's south side, Crain's Grand Rapids has learned.

First Companies Inc. recently filed an application with the city on behalf of American Seating to complete an industrial remodel at 1040 40th St. SE. Ghafari Associates is listed as the project architect.

The proposal calls for demolishing a small office space on the north end of the building, renovating the parking lot and remodeling the inside of the building to add a mezzanine for office and support space.

The overall plan would modify the existing facility to support American Seating's relocation from its longtime headquarters that dates back to the late 19th century.

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Property records show the nearly 39-acre property is owned by a Canadian company doing business as 1040 Michigan LP, which purchased the property for nearly $48.8 million in June 2022 from an affiliate of Livonia-based Schostak Brothers & Co. Schostak Brothers acquired the 950,000-square-foot distribution facility in 2019 for $24.1 million.

American Seating selected the site for "a number of factors," including its location in the city of Grand Rapids and its proximity to major freeways and the airport, according to an American Seating spokesperson.

"It's also a location where we believe we’ll be able to recruit even more employees," the spokesperson said in an email.

Company officials expect to make a formal announcement with more details on the relocation plan soon.

American Seating's move to the facility also marks a return of furniture manufacturing to the site, which formerly was part of Steelcase's legacy manufacturing campus.

As a result of restructuring and modernizing its operations, Steelcase as of 2005 vacated more than 4 million square feet of buildings spanning more than 200 acres between 36th Street and 44th Street east of Eastern Avenue at the very southern edge of the city of Grand Rapids. Steelcase in 2007 sold the campus to Ashley Capital, which marketed the site as the Grand Rapids Commerce Center.

Ashley Capital renovated some buildings on the campus and demolished others to make way for new construction, selling its last parcel at Grand Rapids Commerce Center in 2021.

American Seating's new location is just north of and abuts the Steelcase Learning and Innovation Center and its 44th Street corporate headquarters.

Planning documents show an $8.6 million project cost, though company officials said details are still being worked out and declined to provide "specific numbers at this time." The company does not plan to seek brownfield incentives at this time, according to a company spokesperson.

Company officials confirmed last month that American Seating is relocating from its current location in Grand Rapids to another, previously undisclosed site in the city. The company was founded in 1886 on Grand Rapids’ west side in a headquarters and manufacturing space that has shrunk over time.

Company officials previously said their plan was to renovate a new site in phases over the next year with an anticipated completion date by early 2024. Future plans for the nearly 17-acre property at 901 Broadway Ave. NW that serves as American Seating's current manufacturing space have not yet been disclosed.

American Seating is also moving out of 33,000 square feet of office space in the American Seating Park at 801 Broadway. Digital and I.T. consulting firm OST is moving into the space, as Crain's Grand Rapids Business previously reported.

More from Crain's Grand Rapids Business:

Amphitheater developer to seek ‘transformational’ brownfield incentives

Auxo Investment Partners acquires Southeast Michigan machine shop

Holland manufacturing plant abruptly closes, laying off 171 workers