Work is underway on Somerville Architects & Engineers new office

Heather Graves

Staff

August 26, 2024

ALLOUEZ – Though Somerville Architects & Engineers only broke ground on its new office building at 2120 Riverside Drive in Allouez earlier this month, President Matt Schachtner said the project has been years in the making.

“Every time I drive by the site and see dirt being moved, it’s a little bit surreal,” Schachtner said. “This is something that we’ve talked about for a long time here at Somerville, and seeing it actually happen is incredibly exciting.”

And as with many of its external projects for clients, Schachtner said the design and planning process for Somerville’s new building was a team effort.

“We had vision sessions with all of our employees and came up with probably around 150 goals for the building – whether it was an outdoor terrace or natural light,” he said. “And we really nailed it – 98% of those original goals were incorporated into the building.”

A long time coming

Schachtner said Somerville – which officially became an ESOP (employee stock ownership) company in 2008 – first purchased the 2120 Riverside Drive property in 2014.

“This will actually be our fourth location on Riverside Drive,” he said.

Schachtner said what makes this property and this office different, however, is that the company owns it.

“We’ve been leasing buildings for a number of years,” he said. “As an employee-owned company, we thought it was important for not only us to have an asset, but the community of Allouez, too.”

As architects, engineers and designers, Schachtner said Somerville wanted a building that showcased its brand, design and ethos – and “would take us into the future.”

“We’ve been designing spaces that are very recognizable throughout Northeast Wisconsin for many decades,” Josh Bernhardt, business development with Somerville Architects & Engineers, said. “We’re really excited that now a space that will be very recognizable will be our home.”

Though construction costs and interest rates are significantly higher than they were when Somerville first started thinking about building its own building, Schachtner said building now seemed like the right time.

“We have seen a little slowdown in the increase of costs,” he said. “It doesn’t seem like we are ever going back to where things were when we first thought about building, it just seemed like the time was right.”

Though many of the builds Somerville designs for clients include a four-, six-, maybe eight-month design duration, Schachtner said Somerville’s project is the culmination of years of planning.

“We had the luxury of having quite a bit longer to let the project incubate, if you will, ruminate on it a little bit and be thoughtful about everything that we did,” he said. “I think like many other things in life – whether it be your first job, getting married or having a child, you hear about it happening for other people, but it’s a whole other experience when it’s you. We’ve been a part of so many of our clients’ successes, and to see it happening for us – we couldn’t be more thrilled.”

As an ESOP, Schachtner said the Somerville team takes great pride in designing buildings and environments that serve clients’ needs now and into the future. 

The ownership structure, he said, isn’t just a formality – it’s a reflection of Somerville’s commitment to quality, client satisfaction and lasting relationships.

Schachtner said Somerville team members aren’t merely employees – “we’re invested stakeholders who share in the success of every project.”

With an average employee tenure of nearly 14 years – which Schachtner said far surpasses the national average – he said Somerville’s team has built a culture where dedication, expertise and trust intersect. 

“We look forward to this new chapter as we continue shaping our community’s landscape,” he said.

Immel Construction will lead the construction aspect of the project.

Like Somerville, Schachtner said Immel Construction is also a 100% employee-owned firm.

“Both Somerville and Immel’s teams share a passion for what they do; values based on honesty, trust, and integrity; and a vision to improve the communities where they work,” he said.

Location, location, location

Building Somerville’s new office on Riverside Drive in Allouez, Schachtner said, was done intentionally.

“Our founder, John Somerville, lived in Allouez,” he said. “But we are also on the Fox River; connected to a trail that employees use every day; have direct access to the water; have views of Lambeau Field – we designed the original bowl in 1956 and continue to do work with the Green Bay Packers – and are very centrally located.”

The easy access to Interstates 43 and 41 – and then Highways 29 and 57 – from Highway 172, Schachtner said, puts Somerville’s office in a prime location.

“We have employees coming from the Appleton and Kaukauna area, even Oshkosh,” he said. “We even have employees down in the Sheboygan and Sheboygan Falls area. I myself live up in the Dyckesville area. So, it is a nice, central location for staff.”

Bernhardt said it is also located minutes from downtown Green Bay and De Pere and the Titletown District – all of which are good talent attraction incentives. 

“We can take advantage of the amenities there – restaurants and other activities that would attract potential employees,” he said. “From a talent attraction perspective, we’re able to talk about and show off those community assets that we’re just minutes from.”

Bernhardt said the Somerville team takes pride in its company culture, core values, mission and vision – and in today’s labor market, “I think this building only makes us more attractive and elevates us as a desirable place to work.”

A peek inside

Because of the continued collaborative work between architects, engineers, interior designers and graphic designers, Schachtner said the Somerville team has always worked in a studio-like environment – which will be carried over into the new space.

The approximately 35,000-square-foot building, he said, is a testament to thoughtful design and functionality.

“The new office will enhance connectivity, provide more of a sense of community and support a collaborative and creative environment,” he said. “Our building right now doesn’t necessarily speak to what we do and who we are.”

However, Schachtner said the new building aims to do just that.

“The new space has a lot of meeting spaces, a lot of glass, a lot of adjacencies and visual connectivity – a very flexible space,” he said. “It’s also going to be full of technology for connectivity, and we have a raised terrace with a sunshade device.”

Every aspect of the building, Schachtner said, was designed with the team in mind – including the building’s 15 degrees of rotation from a true east/west axis.

“Though there will be a lot of glass in the new building, we also did solar studies so we minimize the amount of direct sunlight hitting people’s workstations and computers – while at the same time maximizing views and natural light,” he said.

In addition to an elevated outdoor terrace and indoor parking, Schachtner said the sloping site allows the building’s design to ensure all sides are visible from the road and Fox River Trail.

Space to grow

Schachtner said the building is designed to accommodate more than 60 employees – Somerville currently has 47 employees.

“For us, that would be a fair amount of growth,” he said. “We’re also a very tight-knit group and are employee-owned, so our growth – in terms of our vision for our company – is smart growth, getting better in everything we do.”

As someone “out and about in the community,” Bernhardt said the new building will help Somerville showcase who it is in its own space.

“We’ve been showcasing our design capabilities all around our region for many decades – I’m really excited to be able to showcase who we are at our home and open our space up to the community,” he said.

Somerville’s vision, Bernhardt said, is to be an integral part of community success.

And by community, Schachtner said, that means the community at large, Somerville’s client and partner community and the Somerville employee community.

“I’m really excited to welcome the community to our space,” he said.

One of Somerville’s guiding principles, Schachtner said, is relationships matter.

“At any given time, the projects were working on, we have 94% repeat clients,” he said. “So we definitely focus on quality work – making our clients a success through the designs and engineering that we do.”

Another guiding principle of Somerville, Schachtner said, is design matters.

“So, when people drive by this building, and they see our tag design matters – they’ll understand it,” he said.