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Posted on Thu, Apr 19, 2012 : 5:58 a.m.

Tech company transforms former Leopold Bros. brewery into 'industrial but modern' office space

By Lizzy Alfs

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The former Leopold Bros. brewery building on South Main Street near downtown Ann Arbor has a new look after being vacant for nearly four years.

HookLogic, a New York-based technology company whose software helps retailers and digital marketers influence online customers, recently moved into the roughly 11,000-square-foot space at 523 S. Main St. after completing renovations.

From the exposed brick walls to skylights and an open wood rafter ceiling, general manager Gary Evans said the building has attractive aesthetics that make for a unique office space.

gary_evans_hook_logic.jpg

Gary Evans, general manager of HookLogic in Ann Arbor, in the company's new office space at 523 S. Main St.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

leopold_brothers_hook_logic.jpg

The former Leopold Bros. brewery on South Main Street has been transformed into a technology company.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

“We saw this space and fell in love with it pretty quickly,” Evans said. “This building has a lot of heritage and history. It feels industrial, but modern with all the glass, and also has kind of a loft feeling as well.”

Leopold Bros. moved out of the 85-year-old building in May 2008 when owners Todd and Scott Leopold moved the company to Colorado. The building is registered to 529 S. Main LLC, of which Gerald Spears is the managing partner, according to state records.

Prior to the move, HookLogic was leasing approximately 5,000 square feet of office space between two locations: 111 W. Kingsley and 603 W. Huron, both on the outskirts of downtown Ann Arbor.

The company — which secured $9.5 million in venture capital in 2011 — has been growing its Ann Arbor operations since opening here four years ago. It has 40 employees and plans to slowly hire more.

The expansion is possible because of the company's popular e-commerce software, which helps Web retail clients like Expedia.com and media agencies target customers with customized marketing messages.

The 11,000 square-foot South Main Street building gives the company extra room for that growth, Evans said.

“The plan is to continue to expand over coming months and years,” Evans said. “We may, in the short term, sublease (roughly 3,500 square feet) of the building as we continue to grow.”

Most of the HookLogic employees work in one big office space at community tables. There are a few private offices and conference rooms, but those are full of windows to promote a collaborative work environment, Evans said.

There is also a break room — complete with a ping-pong and foosball table, mini basketball hoop, kegerator, bottles of liquor and snacks.

The reason, Evans said: “We don’t want people burning out or losing their minds.”

He added, “We have a kind of crew that’s really passionate about what they do, and that means they spend a lot of time here working. It’s important to have some of these things so people can be comfortable, relax and take a break.”

And with the new location in a unique space on the fringe of downtown, Evans hopes the HookLogic employees will feel even more motivated.

“I want people to come by and see it and want to work here,” he said. “I want our employees to be proud of the space, and I hope it energizes them.”

Lizzy Alfs is a business reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at 734-623-2584 or email her at lizzyalfs@annarbor.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lizzyalfs.

Comments

Matt Targett

Tue, May 1, 2012 : 8:28 p.m.

I'm not sure what is going on with some of the commentors but I am sorry to say that the detractors are missing the point. HookLogic's owners and management have a track record of building successful tech businesses and locating them in Ann Arbor. Instead of complaining about glossy floors and drywall maybe you should thank them for believing in Ann Arbor and investing in downtown at a time when other businesses won't. HookLogic has invested in and developed a vacant eyesore, provided jobs and made a commitment to Ann Arbor. What have you done with your dollars to make downtown a better place?

kamsdesign

Fri, Apr 20, 2012 : 5:11 p.m.

If the article never told you that they made beers here before, would you have found that out by being there now? Probably not. The reason is that the new design has not tried to preserve any kind of connection to the previous life of this building. What I have described may have sounded a little abstract. Well, to make it simpler, if they have not polished that floor so shinny and glossy but retained the original feel which is probably kind of rough and dull, that would have already a better story to tell of the origin of the "flaws" on the former "industrial-ly used" floor. Maybe I am wrong and the brewery did have a glossy floor there before. But seriously this former brewery was brutally gutted and its space was then filled with whatever the tech company needs. Either way, the effort to recycle old and good buildings deserves to be recognized by the public.

kamsdesign

Fri, Apr 20, 2012 : 5:11 p.m.

The local digital newspaper called the renovation as "Industrial but Modern". I started to wonder what that means. "Industrial" reminds me of the abandoned car factories with "mushroom-ed" columns and lattice square-like huge windows in Detroit. "Modern" is more like the technology-of-the-time aesthetic, like the Hancock Tower or Sears Tower. The term "modem" is very confusing. Things are only "modem" when they first come out as something new. After a while, they become things of the past and not modern. A good example would be the Eames Plywood Chair from the 40s. It was modern but not anymore. Now it is a classic piece of well–designed chair. I have gone through all the photos from the article but fail to find traces of "Industrial but Modern" touches in this "high tech company" office. All these brick and wood truss only remind me of a type of local vernacular building style at the turn of the 20th century in the America. Sorry it doesn't look "industrial". As for the "modem" touches, there is no sign of a modern aesthetic in the design, at all. If you want a good example of a "modem" office, just turn on the TV and watch the cool offices in one of the CSI shows. Here there is only typical dry wall office with aluminum-framed glass wall plus tons of carpet tiles. And the floor is just too glossy to be "modern" or "industrial". The only "modern" things here are the expensive chairs from maybe Herman Miller or Steelcase.

Tommie Twotime

Fri, Apr 20, 2012 : 2:48 p.m.

Bunch of hipster tech geeks in skinny jeans lol. What a waste of space, a company contributing to more spam. Doesn't this clown own the necto?

zags

Thu, Apr 19, 2012 : 10:30 p.m.

Stupid Hick is exactly right: Leopold Bros left because, for the most part, their rent was jacked up sky high. http://arborwiki.org/city/Leopold_Bros Leopold Brothers currently operate a distillery in Denver Colorado. http://leopoldbros.com/New_site/Leopold_Bros.html The landlord in question is Jerry Spears of Amvest. http://www.amvestproperty.com/people.html You may have heard of Jerry Spears/Amvest as they have sold several downtown Ann Arbor buildings to Dr Rahmani of the Rahmani Eye Institute.

puncturedtime

Thu, Apr 19, 2012 : 7:46 p.m.

What happened to AA.com's Nathan Bomey?

puncturedtime

Thu, Apr 19, 2012 : 8:40 p.m.

;)

Lizzy Alfs

Thu, Apr 19, 2012 : 8:31 p.m.

You're right, he's fantastic!

puncturedtime

Thu, Apr 19, 2012 : 8:03 p.m.

Ohhh, hmph, such a shame that all the good ones leave...well good for him...He used to do such a great job covering these kinds of stories and explaining lots of insightful and uncommon details about companies. Oh well.

Lizzy Alfs

Thu, Apr 19, 2012 : 7:49 p.m.

Nathan is now doing great work at the Detroit Free Press covering GM :)

Kent Jocque

Thu, Apr 19, 2012 : 6:53 p.m.

The place looks great and I applaud the effort to make the employees happy and comfortable in their work place. One caution for the tenants. I remember drinking pitchers in Leopold Bros one January night wearing my winter coat to stay warm. That large high-ceiling open space has to be hard to heat. The offices should be fine. -Kent

Thomas Jones

Thu, Apr 19, 2012 : 3:46 p.m.

This is great for that space! Leopold Bros was LAME! Great to here about this company I wish you guys the best!!!! No Worries about the booze I think it is a great idea. Bunch of old farts worried about the fun you may have at work!!! GOD FORBID you have fun at work.!!! Cheers!

Just an opinion

Thu, Apr 19, 2012 : 3:14 p.m.

I'd be curious to know what some of you, commenting negatively, consider to be a positive and exciting working environment? Would you prefer cubicles to open spaces, water cooler in place of a keg full of local brew, head down and get to work mentality over the ability to take a nice break once in a while with a game of ping-pong? What is wrong with a little fun at work...get in touch with this generation of employees and you may find that what works is no longer the 'clock in/clock out' mentality. Geeze...have a little fun people.

Ron Granger

Thu, Apr 19, 2012 : 2:43 p.m.

As for the liquor, ping pong, etc - that is important and perfectly fine. You want people to be comfortable at work, especially if they are working long hours. People playing games at work can do great things for teamwork and morale. It is better to have employees on-site than taking off for the bar, or home. This is the same reason many business offer free dinner to employees. If the employee must leave to go get food, they often stop working.

Ron Granger

Thu, Apr 19, 2012 : 2:39 p.m.

Wow. I was expecting something cool but that space looks awful. Specifically, the choice of lighting, and the use of white drywall. They both dominate the space. Awful. If only they'd hired someone who, you know, designs interiors for a living.

Stupid Hick

Thu, Apr 19, 2012 : 1:52 p.m.

"Leopold Bros. moved out of the 85-year-old building in May 2008 when owners Todd and Scott Leopold moved the company to Colorado." This makes it sound like the reason Leopold moved out was because they had decided to move the company to Colorado. They moved because the landlord priced them out of the lease. It took four years to get another tenant. I'd be interested to know how the current lease compares to what the landlord was asking four years ago.

Jim Osborn

Thu, Apr 19, 2012 : 8:24 p.m.

Even if it were more, how much more and for how many years will it take take for this greedy or at least foolish landlord to get back to neutral? He should have reached a deal with Leopold Brothers so they would stay, or sell their business to another if they really wanted to move away. If Leoplod Brothers had stayed, at their old lease price, this land lord would be close to $100,000 ahead. Now he spend even more on construction costs. Higher real estate prices to cause higher rents. I wonder if this landlord was a new owner?

Chris Mullins

Thu, Apr 19, 2012 : 1:25 p.m.

Awesome job with the building, it looks like a positive and fun environment to work in. Not sure who these crabby other posters are but HookLogic is far from spam, in fact their services are a great idea and I'm glad they're in Ann Arbor. Also, being somebody who has worked in an environment like this before I can speak from first hand in saying that being able to take a break and play Foosball is great for morale and despite what the cynics may believe its also great for productivity & employee retention.

Barb

Thu, Apr 19, 2012 : 1:09 p.m.

Burn out is a real problem in high tech. Those questioning should explain why providing a positive work environment, increasing morale and retaining talent thru incentives is such a bad thing.

JB1

Thu, Apr 19, 2012 : 11:22 a.m.

What a sad, terrible replacement for Leopold Bros.! And really--liquor and ping pong tables are going to get people to "want to work there?" I want to work at my job because I do meaningful things to help other people--not spamming on the internet. Has anyone else noticed a definitive change in the downtown A2 "culture?" Along with our quirky, unique business, we've also lost some of that ethos. When I go there I see a lot of overpaid yuppies (who think A2 is "urban") and entitled students.

lindor

Mon, Apr 23, 2012 : 1:44 a.m.

Leopold's was great, but what is better for the community: Another bar that can barely make rent or a business that adds 40 more jobs to downtown, with employees that will support businesses just up the street? Seems like a no-brainer to me.

justcurious

Thu, Apr 19, 2012 : 10:50 a.m.

"There is also a break room — complete with a ping-pong and foosball table, mini basketball hoop, kegerator, bottles of liquor and snacks. The reason, Evans said: "We don't want people burning out or losing their minds." He added, "We have a kind of crew that's really passionate about what they do, and that means they spend a lot of time here working. It's important to have some of these things so people can be comfortable, relax and take a break." The new workplace means your employer bribes you with liquor? I would find it hard to be "passionate" about inundating the internet with even more unwanted ads. Glad I retired before I "lost my mind".

Dave

Thu, Apr 19, 2012 : 2:27 p.m.

It's a tech company; the workers are probably passionate about writing software more than anything. And just because you can't empathize with other's interest in this particular line of business doesn't mean it's impossible for others to enjoy it. Put your gavel down. The younger talent that works at tech companies like this prefer these more laid-back environments as opposed to the more stuffy 'old-fashioned' variety of work. Liquor and foosball isn't a bribe; it's a new generation of both educated workers, and post-modern corporate culture that seeks a healthier work-life balance, even in the workplace. If it makes workers happy, workers are more productive: it's a win-win.

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