2015 has come and gone and what a year it was. Along with continued work with many of our long-time clients we were challenged to design several eclectic projects. Here’s a look back at a few of the exciting, innovative, challenging projects that kept us busy in 2015.
Our Most Unique Convenience Store Yet
At MRP we’ve been designing convenience stores for over 26 years but we’ve never designed one with a basement for parking, until now. Due to site development constraints and the number of parking spaces required for a convenience store with food service, not only was this design multi-story but it required the integration of a parking garage complete with a vehicle lift; a first for us.
It May Look Like a Traditional Design on the Outside…
MRP was involved in the design and engineering of a unique multi-story legal office building. This distinctive building combines conventional metal building construction with traditional building construction to provide a very efficient solution thus reducing the overall project development cost. The building is going to be located near the iconic King and Queen buildings in Sandy Springs, GA and the floor plan was designed to provide eye catching views of these popular buildings throughout. While the structure of the building utilizes efficient and less expensive metal building construction the exterior of the building is designed to meet the meticulous architectural requirements of this upscale business community.
Two Hotels. One Lot. Doubled.
MRP is currently designing a number of hotels (Homewood Suites, Holiday Inn Express, Hilton Home2, and Marriott Springhill Suites) throughout the southeast including two sites, housing two concepts each, in Hilton Head Island, SC and Augusta, GA. Designing a hotel proposes its own set of challenges, fitting two completely difference concepts on one particular lot completely changes the game. MRP Design Group worked side-by-side with the civil engineers to craft site plans that creatively managed the usage of the property while maximizing value and profitability for each concept. In addition to these site layout challenges, the Hilton Head Island projects required extensive modification to the standard hotel prototype to meet the municipality’s stringent architectural requirements.
Wendy’s Reimaging Initiative Produces Positive Results
MRP has worked closely with Wendy’s as they continue to roll-out their reimaging campaign across North America. This successful redesign initiative focuses on improving the customer experience and giving the exterior a more contemporary look. On average Wendy’s franchisees with well-established locations are seeing a 25-30% sales increase after the completion of these remodels.
Zaxby’s “Indescribable” Growth
In 2015, MRP completed dozens of Zaxby’s sites including both ground-up and conversions. Zaxby’s is currently rolling out their striking “farm-house” design which was originally designed and developed by MRP Design Group. MRP has been a proud service provider to Zaxby’s since 2007 and we congratulate them on recently exceeding 700 locations! As a side note: We’ve done over 100 restaurant conversions over the years (converting a closed fast-food restaurant to a new and different concept) but we have never converted a shuttered Zaxby’s; that’s one solid concept.
Popeye’s Louisiana Chicken
MRP has worked on a number of projects for Popeye’s in 2015 including designing ground-up sites as well as providing preliminary drawings for Popeye’s conversion sites. MRP has just been selected to provide reviews, on behalf of Popeye’s corporate office, of conversion projects done by various architectural firms throughout the United States.
Grove Town: If You Build They Will Come
Another exciting project we’ve worked on this year is the proposed design for a convention center hotel to be constructed adjacent to an existing convention center in Grove Town, GA. This building was designed to blend with the distinctive architectural design of the existing convention center. The hotel will also have spacious auditorium seating, banquet rooms and full service dining and lounge.
Trilogy Group: Creatively Reducing Development Costs
MRP has worked on a number of small retail centers for Trilogy Group in various states across the southeast. These units, smaller than a traditional shopping center, accommodate multiple retail concepts on one piece of property reducing the net cost of development while providing a cost effective solution when developing a piece of land that may otherwise be too small for a conventional strip center.
Metal Buildings: Flexible, Energy Efficient and Speedy Construction Times
MRP has collaborated with Design Services Group, the services’ arm of General Steel Corporation, on several projects this year ranging from dental and medical offices to churches. Services provided include architectural and design services for foundations and interior layouts as well as complete construction design and engineering including architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing.
Trinidad’s Larger than Life Development
MRP Design Group provided layout and design services for a beautiful new retail, restaurant, and fueling facility in Trinidad. The retail fueling facility of this project will be among the first construction of its kind to be allowed in the past 20 years. The project will be located on reclaimed property that was previously swamp area. Utilizing special technology the land will be packed with additional dirt which will compact and help remove residual moisture. With land costing a premium on the island, the development will be originally constructed as a single story with an option to construct a second floor in the future. This multi-faceted project will include: 10 fueling lane fuel canopy which will dispense gasoline, diesel, and natural gas, a convenience store, Wendy’s, Dairy Queen, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, Subway restaurants and a 13,000 SF auto dealership.
