Ypsilanti's latest development news might not quite be a homerun, but it's darn close. The city is welcoming a new company, Schoolpictures.com, which is taking over vacant space, putting it back on the tax rolls, planning to turn it into a green campus and promising to grow exponentially in the near future.
"We're thrilled to make the move," says Skip Cerier, president of Schoolpictures.com. "We think it will be great for the company and great for the community."
A web-based company that helps schools raise money, Schoolpictures is taking over the old Ave Maria University campus on Forest Avenue between the campus of Eastern Michigan University and Frog Island Park. It hopes to close on the deal by the late spring and actually move into the space from its Pittsfield Township office by the fall of next year.
Schoolpictures.com is a rapidly growing firm. It started with seven employees three years ago and has since grown to 41. It hopes to go well beyond those numbers quickly.
"Our business has more than doubled in the last three years," Cerier says. "It looks to double again in the next three years. We're going to experience unprecedented growth in the next five years. We simply ran out of space."
That set off a search for new offices across the country. Cerier was "willing to leave Michigan" and considered 18 cities in all. His company choose Ypsilanti because the new offices would be close to EMU's campus, allowing it to work closely with the school and its students. Schoolpictures.com plans to increase its number of internships to 75 within five years. Those internships will range from accountants to graphic artists.
The company also plans to renovate the buildings on the small campus, 21,000 square feet in all, to make them more environmentally friendly. Among the additions will be green roofs to the two main buildings. Cerier is also working with an architect to make sure the buildings are certified for Leadership in Energy and Environment Design.
Schoolpictures.com is also buying the campus' president house. The 1864 Victorian home was painstakingly restored by Tom Monaghan, the founder of Ave Maria, to combine historical integrity with modern convenience. That house will be used for meetings and to entertain potential clients.
Source: Skip Cerier, president of Schoolpictures.com
Writer: Jon Zemke
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