This Midlink West space is filled by Kenco (Stryker third-party logistics) .

CSM EFFORTS AT MIDLINK ARE REALLY "SOMETHING ELSE!"

Project Overview

Name: Midlink Business Park
Location: Kalamazoo, Michigan
Project Type: Industrial
Square Footage: MIdlink East 828,800 sq. ft.
Midlink West 761,600 sq. ft.
240 acres available for mixed-use development

CSM Group has undertaken every possible type of project: new construction, tenant build-outs, remodeling, restoration, and renovations. But it’s time to add a new term to that list, because the work performed at Kalamazoo’s Midlink Business Park can be called nothing short of a “reinvention.”

The whole story has a fairy-tale quality to it. A former General Motors stamping plant, the facility has undergone bold and dramatic changes in recent years. This stunning metamorphosis has turned it into a showcase facility, offering the largest and most flexible contiguous space available for warehousing and distribution, manufacturing, and other uses in the entire Midwest. It offers nearly 2 million square feet of available space, on a campus of over 340 acres.

When its transformation was first begun, the single massive factory was physically divided into two distinct segments: Midlink East and Midlink West. The separation provided more manageable space units and enabled better truck access and convenient docking facilities to all areas.

While Midlink West was renovated into attractive and functional warehousing and distribution space in relatively short order, Midlink East provided a different challenge. While the structure offered features attractive to industrial manufacturing operations, like high ceilings, heavy-duty internal transport mechanisms, enhanced floor load rates, and rail access inside and out, other aspects were less desirable.

For one thing, the entire floor of the existing structure— wooden blocks supported by metal I-beams—had to be replaced, after enduring 35 years of grease, mechanical fluids, and other industrial by-products (and showing it).

For another, the big holes in the floor! In its previous life, the building had a 278,000 square-foot basement, much of it used for housing the footings and supply areas for large, multi-story machinery. Once the machinery was removed, those areas became huge gaps in the main floor.

An opening for CSM Group.

A potential tenant had expressed interest in a large portion of Midlink East. So CSM Group was called upon to convert the structure into usable space in a short period of time. After performing miscellaneous demolition throughout the facility, it was time to tackle the floor issue. That required—and received—some truly innovative thinking, according to Curt Petersen, Group Vice President of CSM Group.

The plan was to install a new 6" concrete floor, but the use of traditional support structure would have left the sections over the basement a different height. By reusing the old I-beams from the wood floor—and turning them on their sides—CSM Group was able to equalize the 6" gap.

Petersen, who credits Brian Webster of Byce & Associates, the engineering firm on the project, for helping hatch the idea, says it was the classic “win-win situation.”

“It was great for the owner because it saved money, and it was great for the landfills that won’t be loaded up with that old material we were able to re-use,” Petersen said.

A happy tenant and a very happy owner.

The tenant was thrilled to able to move into the space right on schedule. And the owner was happy for several reasons. David Smith, President of Midlink and Partner in Hackman Capital Partners, marveled at the achievement.

“The tenant didn’t really believe it could be done on that schedule. It was amazing to accomplish something of that scope and complexity in the middle of winter,” Smith said.

“That work was really the ‘tipping point,’” Smith added. “It’s when that building really changed from an old auto manufacturing plant into a modern warehouse/distribution/ logistics facility. This really reinvented the building.”

More to the CSM Group—Midlink story.

The reclamation of Midlink East was only the beginning. CSM Group has handled the build-out for a number of Midlink tenants including Macomb Group, Kenco (for Stryker third-party logistics), and warehousing for Erickson Flooring. In Midlink West, CSM worked with Midlink and its tenants to develop a variety of effective floor finish improvements. While this portion of the building did not have large basements, the floor did require work.

For ICS, CSM Group completed class-A office space, a noteworthy achievement in a reclaimed industrial structure. And in August, CSM Group completed the first new structure on the Midlink campus for Maggie’s Catering.

The evolution of Midlink Business Park from its stamping factory roots is a remarkable and gratifying one. CSM Group has been proud to play a part in this success story, and looks forward to doing so for some time to come.