Tag Archives: commercial buildings

Street Department Buildings

The Borough of Minersville, Pennsylvania is probably very similar to much of rural Americana. It affords some of the services which citizens come to expect – police, water, sewer and a street department.

Now in the case of Minersville, their Street Department became just a wee bit more colorful nearly two years ago when its then supervisor was charged with a plethora of offenses which included harassment, public drunkenness, felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor offenses of simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and possessing instruments of crime.

Street Departments can provide a variety of services beyond just a safe and maintained road network. Generally their responsibilities include repair and maintenance of the streets, fabricating and installing street name signs, regulatory signs and various informational signs.

With all of these services to provide, it stands to reason the average Street Department has in its possession lots of taxpayer financed stuff. With budgets always being carefully scrutinized, it bodes well for Street Departments to keep things locked up where they will be secure, as well as providing (when needed) adequate workspace.

Minersville’s new Street Department supervisor determined existing facilities were inadequate and moved forward to make some changes.

Here is where things went awry….

Council President Bill Angelo said it might have cost $200,000 for a pole building the borough could have built.

MoneyHaving been in the post frame building industry for heading towards 40 years, I can vouch for $200,000 having built one dickens of a nice pole building! I wasn’t at their meeting, but this type of dollar amount seems to have been plucked from the air, without a great deal of research being done.

Instead, Minersville has opted to spend $96,500 on a used warehouse, which by their own admission needs heat, plumbing and other amenities.

Just my educated guess, but by the time all is said and done, Minersville will have spent more money on an old building, than they would have invested in a brand new one…..and it will still be an old building!

Your city, township, borough, county or other municipal jurisdiction need a new facility for a Street Department? A new post frame (pole) building is probably the ticket to success – both in investment and functionality.

Wintertime Pole Building Dreaming

It’s not even December and I’m already tired of pushing/shoveling snow.  But strangely, there is something about the wintertime which is somewhat comforting.  My wife and I live by a lake in the mountains where most folks around us retreat to the city when the snow flies.  Like relatives, we happily welcome our summertime friends in the Spring and just as happily wave goodbye in the Fall.  Winter brings time for “holing up”, reflection…and planning.

This is the time of year when the number of clients asking for quotes on pole buildings rises terrifically.  Folks are not exactly thinking in these terms, but it comes down to, “What in my life will be better with a new pole building?”  If you are not thinking in this direction, you should be!  After all, your new building should be built to serve you, make your life easier in some fashion –or to make or save you money over the long haul.

Maybe you want to start a new business, or your hobby (not your hubby!) has outgrown your bedroom or small house office space.  If you are tired of the monthly rent or lease payments going towards someone else’s equity or retirement income – all these are great reasons to build a pole building and “bring it home”.

You’ll have control over your own destiny…be your own boss. No more worries about not being able to control or deal with neighboring tenants in a rental unit.

Need a place to do extensive craft work, woodworking, ceramics, ride your horses or whatever you like without going so far as your own backyard? And isn’t it great to have a place to go where you can just “spread out”, make a mess and really get into a project without worrying about cleaning up each time.  The best part is…it will be just as you left it when you come back to work on it again!

One of my friends took her hobby out of her house and into a new pole building for her eBay “hobby”…and the larger building paid for itself in less than a year! Or – to go a step further – how about an extra income stream?  By constructing a building (or buildings) which can be leased out to tenants, you can have income every month.

Sometimes the limits to what you can do are only limited by your creativity and imagination.  One of our customers is currently finalizing all the specifications for 23 pole buildings (yes, that’s 23!).  She and her husband are planning a new campground in New York – and can’t wait to get started.  They had the land, and the county saw the opportunity to increase local revenues.

Building rent and/or leasing can range from self -storage units to office space, manufacturing to warehouses, strip malls to horse barns and arenas.

Commercial buildings we’ve done have included buildings for an eastern state prison facility, Les Schwab Tires, Sun Mountain Lodge and the Nature Center for the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.  Again, the variety is only exceeded by your imagination!  So put your feet up by the fire this winter, grab a cup of hot chocolate or cider and plan the pole building of your dreams.