This story has been updated since its original posting.

The former La-Z-Boy Furniture Gallery near Briarwood Mall will become the new home of Kapnick Insurance Group’s Ann Arbor-based staff.

The company, based in Adrian, bought the former retail building this week.

Kapnick had been searching for a new office to consolidate its two offices in the area since it merged with Ufer & Co. Insurance in early 2009, said Rene Carpenter of Kapnick.

“This was the right place at the right time,” Carpenter said.

The building had been listed with NAI Farbman commercial real estate brokers with no stated asking price following the La-Z-Boy store closing in 2009.

The 18,424-square-foot store, built in 1998, sits on 8.19 acres between the south side of Briarwood Mall -near Von Maur -and I-94.

Jim Kapnick, company president, declined to name the purchase price.

However, he described the price as "a good deal" both for the location near I-94 and South State and the condition of the building.

The building was sold in 2006 for $3.3 million to an entity of La-Z-Boy, according to city records. Its SEV was $700,000 in 2010, down from $1.28 million in 2008, the last year it was fully operating as a furniture store.

The location and visibility was appealing to Kapnick, Carpenter said. So was the wide open interior, where the company can reconfigure the former showroom to fit its needs.

Among the goals for the remodel, Carpenter said, are to build a large conference room, promote the company with signage visible from I-94, and capitalize on natural lighting and views of the nearby pond.

“It’s much more space than we actually need,” Carpenter said. However, she added that owner Jim Kapnick doesn’t plan on leasing surplus space.

“We will use it to grow,” Carpenter said.

Kapnick’s corporate headquarter is in Adrian, where it employs more than 50 people. Another 30 or so work in a Southfield office, Carpenter said.

The company has been operating in Ann Arbor, too, out of leased space on Victor’s Way. Then it acquired the Ufer insurance office in Ann Arbor, along with that company’s lease for a building on West Stadium.

Consolidating both offices - and the combined staff of about 25 - has been a goal ever since, Carpenter and Kapnick said.

"We’ve been leasing space, which worked out really well for us," Kapnick said, "but we always thought we'd buy something."

Part of the reason, he said, is the company's commitment to its employees and clients in Ann Arbor.

Kapnick entered the Ann Arbor market in 2001 when it bought Harbor Benefit Services. As it moves into its new building in 2011, Kapnick said, the company's goal will be to double its staff in the city.

“We’re still hiring people,” Carpenter said. “This year we hired four new sales people and a couple of client advocates.”

With the building purchase completed, the company will start renovations soon, with Ann Arbor architect Michael Rein of Bowers & Rein designing the build-out. Move-in should occur in May, Kapnick said.

The property will not need to be rezoned for the conversion to offices, Kapnick added.