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41 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, January 27, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 17, 2004 Builders make plans for Amy’s Kitchen project By GREG STILES Mail Tribune S&B James Construction, Batzer Inc. and Adroit Construction, all of Jackson County, are among a handful of companies being considered to build the two 100,000-square-foot buildings for Amy’s Kitchen’s planned expansion. The arrival of the natural frozen foods company portends additional related growth, says Tom Hall, executive vice president at S&B James, whose company has handled Bear Creek Corp.’s recent expansion projects. "The more important thing is that there will be other businesses tagging along, simply because Amy’s is here," Hall says. "I think this is the tip of the iceberg with a lot of other stuff spinning off." Batzer Inc. recently completed a 200,000-square-foot building along the Columbia River for Georgia-Pacific and also built Medford’s Target store. "This is a nice-sized project," says Vice President Andy Batzer. Advertisement He compares the potential impact of Amy’s arrival to that of Wal-Mart in the retail industry. "When Wal-Mart builds, basically everyone perks up," Batzer says. "Other national companies take note, if Wal-Mart has done their homework, there must be some reason for building there. "This is a sign of a community showing progress and growing. Companies are looking for places to move, and Medford is a great opportunity for them to come." The 50-acre site at Whetstone Industrial Park does contain vernal pools, which house threatened fairy shrimp, but they should not be a roadblock, says Adroit Construction Chief Executive Officer Bob Mayers. "It’s not something we haven’t encountered before," Mayers says. "We’ll have to depend on the geotech engineer’s assessment, creativity when it comes to the modification from a standard site." That can mean anything from pile driving to digging out the soil and replacing it with stable rock. "It won’t change the way the building ultimately looks," Mayers says. "One of our project managers has gone down to Santa Rosa and we know Amy’s has a real concern about being a good tenant on the land," he said. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers