Casa Bique plans to expand High Point building
By Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, April 12, 2004
HIGH POINT — Case goods and occasional furniture producer Casa Bique is set to expand and renovate its 122 North Hamilton St. showroom.
The project would add three floors totaling about 52,000 square feet, including another 4,000 square feet on the first floor. The one-story building now has about 12,000 square feet.
Casa Bique, which has occupied the site since 1986, would remain in the building and would lease the additional space. Construction on the upper floors will begin after the April market.
R. Allen Douglas, the company's president and CEO, expects the project to be completed no later than October 2005. But some floors could be completed sooner, allowing future tenants to occupy space within a year.
One prospect is interested in leasing the entire 16,000-square-foot second floor, but no deal has been signed, he said.
The third and fourth floors tentatively would house three or four tenants each in spaces ranging from about 1,500 to 5,500 square feet. That configuration could change, depending on tenant interest. Douglas expects the building to house seven or eight diverse tenants.
"We want the right tenants in there," he said, noting that tenant selection will be sensitive to competing companies. "We want a building that offers a good variety of lines."
Charter tenants could have some equity in the building, but those details haven't been worked out.
Douglas said he would like the building to be open to the design trade year round. That is a major goal of the High Point Showroom Assn., of which Casa Bique is a member.
He said cost of the project hasn't been determined. Samet Corp. is the lead contractor.
Designed by Triad Design Group, the renovated building will have a red and tan brick-and-mortar exterior with columns and verandas on the upper floors. It also will have plenty of windows, some of which can be used to help showcase new product.
Douglas said the company originally considered a more contemporary design. It chose something more traditional to tie in with the styles of other nearby showrooms in the Hamilton Wrenn district, including 200 Steele and the Pavilion on Hamilton project.
Casa Bique's main entrance would be at Hamilton Street and Kivett Drive and would open to a two-story lobby. Each of the top two floors also will have a lobby or entertainment area.
Douglas is enthusiastic about the project, which he believes will help bolster efforts to make High Point a year-round destination for the home furnishings and design trade.
"We are looking forward to having a great collection of tenants that will complement each other and create a very unique facility for downtown High Point," he said
