Although area residents were long under the impression that the unusual building in Gaines township was in the process of being sold to a proposed school, that contract fell through unexpectedly last month. Just as unexpected was the sudden offer of a Nevada-based firm to purchase the long-vacant pyramid that was once the Steelcase Corporate Development Center and the quick closing on May 29th.
The purchasing company, Norman Pyramid LLC, closed on the massive building in a secretive agreement with Steelcase, with the amount of the sale price remaining undisclosed. Their acquisition is one of the most expensive and iconic buildings in West Michigan. When the Pyramid, whose address is 6100 East Paris Avenue Southeast, was originally built in the late eighties, the cost of construction was $111 million dollars.
That original price tag included a team of architects, builders, designers, and even psychologists working to oversee the design and construction of the facility, as well as an inspection by Egyptian engineers. The final building is a massive, memorable fixture on the south side of town. At one time, it was a research and development facility, but as Steelcase downsized last decade, the staff from the pyramid were eventually moved to the Steelcase headquarters.
Once it was abandoned and put up for sale, the asking price was a healthy $19.5 million for the facility. As the years dragged on, however, Steelcase flirted with donating the facility to an organization and entertained price offers as low as $3 million. The facility housed sound proof rooms for noise testing, numerous laboratories, exercise and locker rooms, a data center, a photo studio, a gigantic pendulum extending down through the center of the building, ending in an enormous water feature, and even a full cafeteria. Given the size and layout, the pyramid was not necessarily an optimal location for a typical office environment.
Because of the labs and working environments, an organization interested in running a school in the massive facility, settled on a n125-acre lot, stepped forward, even coming close to receiving funding from the state of Michigan to help with the creation of the school in 2014. However, only a little over a month ago, hopes that a sale to The Pyramid Campus would result in the building being repurposed as an educational facility were dashed, and talks began with a new buyer.
The recent purchase has been referred to as a “cash purchase,” meaning it is possible the price was less than $3 million, despite inferences made by the Pyramid Campus. Whatever the price, Norman Properties appears confident that this transaction will be financially beneficial for their company. Renovations and changes to the facility will likely be taking place in the near future; Norman Properties owns another building in Portage that they invested $7.5 million in renovating. That building, however, is being rented to a number of tenants. They are, at this time, hoping to locate a single tenant interested in the space. According to a statement by their representative, they hope to renovate and sell the property in the next few years.