Eventually, when your business continues to grow at an average of 50% in revenue each year, you’re going to need a bigger office. To keep up, Seagate Development Group, a full-service residential and commercial development and construction company, invested $4 million in its new headquarters at 9921 Interstate Commerce Drive in Fort Myers.
At 13,000 square feet, the new location gives Seagate and its 55 employees (30 of whom regularly work in the office) plenty of flexibility for the future.
“The investment in this building was for our employees,” says Seagate Development Group COO and Partner James Nulf. “We were very successful in a small, nondescript building, but we wanted to create an environment where people felt more creative—inspired to work together—and had more space to collaborate.”
Completed this year, the building also houses Theory Design, the interior design component of Seagate Development Group. The company emphasizes timeless, forward-thinking design in its own projects and designed the new corporate headquarters around that philosophy.
“It symbolizes the strength of who we are,” Ruta Menaghlazi, Theory Design’s vice president of design, says. “It’s very classic; not something that’s very trendy or that will go out of style soon.”
Seagate’s new employee-focused corporate HQ features a clean, timeless design.
The two-story building boasts a modern flair, with clean, angular lines and masculine touches, including warm, walnut-finished cabinetry and a mix of black and gray neutrals. A combination of LED lighting and floor-to-ceiling windows brighten it up, and smart technology keeps it current.
The employee-focused facility also features a cafe, collaboration areas, multiple conference rooms, glass-walled offices, and a large training center. Offices in the back of the building overlook a lake — the kind of setting employees might choose as a desktop background, if it weren’t right outside their window.
“When you look out of the back of the building, you only see a lake and trees,” Nulf says. “You feel like you’re in the middle of the country, but in fact, you’re sit- ting right on one of the biggest corridors of Southwest Florida.”
Executives on the second floor also get a sweet view, with a boardroom that opens to a wraparound balcony. Clients were kept in mind during the design phase, too.
“For the reception area, we wanted it to feel very welcoming, almost like a hotel lobby,” Menaghlazi says. Seagate’s central location, positioned south of its former headquarters and right off the interstate, is an added convenience.
