Tenants of Hach Brothers building embrace wood, brick, natural light

CEDAR RAPIDS — When Mary Abel and Scott Zach were looking for new digs for their respective design studio and insurance businesses, they found a 120-year-old building in downtown Cedar Rapids met their criteria from A to Z.

The four-story Hach Brothers Building at 401 First St SE, constructed in 1895, has been at various times home to a moving and storage company, janitorial supply business, advertising and public relations agency, restaurants and the U.S. Attorney's Office.

'When we walked into this space, we knew it was our new showroom,' said Abel, vice president-furniture at Office Elements, which was located in Hiawatha until earlier this month.

'We moved downtown because downtown is alive and active, and we want to attract new talent as we grow. We really wanted to showcase our main manufacturers ...

'We wanted to have an active, edgy, fresh showroom that's different from our competition. We wanted to use the natural light as well as the warehouse feel to have an urban industrial look.'

The Office Elements first-floor showroom includes natural wood beams and floor trusses, glass doors and partitions, a two-story vault with a spiral staircase, and a graffiti wall.

The latter, created by Tim Westrom, an Iowa State University design major who has done similar projects at Washington High School and ISU, includes many elements that reflect the company's business philosophy of innovation for clients.

'When we first looked at the space, it was down to the bare walls and floors,' Abel said. 'We found the space a year ago. We moved down here in temporary space for six months until it was completed.'

Office Elements, with headquarters in Sioux City, has three divisions — office supplies, technology and furniture. Abel said the Cedar Rapids branch focuses on office furniture.

Zach, also managing partner of Northwestern Mutual in Eastern Iowa, western Illinois and northern Missouri, said the Hach Brothers Building was chosen for several reasons.

'We wanted a historical location with neat space that would attract the kind of people we want to work in our organization,' he said. 'When you look at millennials, they are attracted to loft apartments in warehouse space. Part of our thought was, 'That's probably the kind of environment where they want to work.'

'Another plus for the Hach Brothers Building was parking is available near the building. We were kind of spoiled in Hiawatha with parking right outside our door.'

Zach had praise for Steve Dummermuth Sr., who bought the Hach Brothers Building in 2000, noting he has preserved historic features of the building while working with tenants to create modern work spaces that embrace natural elements and ambient sunlight.

'We have built out 10,000 square feet and have an additional 4,000 square feet, which should be sufficient to meet our needs for the foreseeable future,' Zach said. 'We also have three additional floors in the building that we can grow into should we need additional space.'

Zach's office, with large windows and a section that projects out of the southwest corner of the building, offers a panorama view of the Cedar River, New Bohemia and Kingston Village.

'My original idea was to have a wall of windows across the back of the building,' Zach said. 'When I told Ryan (the general contractor), they came back to me and said, 'Probably the most spectacular view in the entire city is that corner where your office will be. Why don't we open it up?''

Scott Olson of Skogman Commercial said a number of prospective tenants have looked at the second and third floors of the building.

'We would like to find someone to lease the former Henry Russell Bruce space who would retain a lot of the design elements,' Olson said.