From the Ground Up: Ashley Furniture HomeStore warehouse

Owner/developer: Covington Holdings Inc.
General contractor: Morelock-Ross Builders Inc.
Architect: Slone Architects Inc.
Engineers: Lee Engineering and Associates LLC, civil; Tom Edelman Engineering, structural; and Vandersluis Engineering Inc., mechanical, electrical and plumbing
Size: 30,000 square feet
Estimated cost: $1.6 million
Lender: BancorpSouth
Estimated completion date: Dec. 15
Project description: Covington Holdings Inc., dba Ashley Furniture HomeStore, is building a distribution center in Republic to replace a 20,000-square-foot warehouse on Kearney Street in Springfield. The move gives the business room to grow in the area, roughly doubling its current warehouse space when its 20-foot high racking system is taken into account. Owner Andrew Covington said 5,000 square feet would be dedicated to corporate offices and a call center. Ashley Furniture plans to add 32 positions to its staff once the warehouse is operational, and the Missouri Department of Economic Development has authorized the company to receive an incentives package upon meeting job creation and investment goals.

Send project info to bbrown@sbj.net.