Genesis Mechanical eyes downtown rehab project

Now the company is creating a downtown office that will double as a working model and showroom for the services and products it offers.

Owners Tony and Jamie Letts and Mark and Mellissa Frietchen are revamping an empty, run-down, 9,000-square-foot building at 634 W. Wall Street.

“It is an adaptive reuse of an existing structure,” said Mark Frietchen, the company’s vice president. “The city wanted to tear down the building that we are renovating. We recognize that there is an enormous amount of revitalization that is occurring downtown, and we wanted to be a part of it.”

Genesis Mechanical is an engineering and consulting company that provides mechanical, electrical and plumbing services as well as mechanical installation services.

The group also does business as Genesis Design Group, a title that refers to the design arm of the company, which has a total of five employees.

The company has worked out of Frietchen’s home for the past several years. About a year and a half ago, Genesis bought the downtown building and began planning for its makeover. The building had no heating, electricity or plumbing, and it is being completely redone, said Letts, who is the company’s president.

Genesis employees are doing much of the work on the renovations. Employee Kevin Conway did much of the electrical planning, Letts did the design work and Frietchen did the heating, ventilation and air conditioning design for the building. They also worked with architect John Luce.

Product showroom

Renovations are expected to finish up in the spring.

The building will serve as a working model for the products and services Genesis offers. Local architects, designers, contractors and homeowners will be able to visit the office and see the products in action.

“Everything that we’re doing in the building is exposed so you have an idea of how all of the components go together,” Letts said. “You can see how everything operates. That’s the whole concept of the building.”

Adrian Rhoads of Rhoads Design and Construction has worked with Genesis Mechanical on past projects and is working with Letts and Frietchen on the Wall Street renovations. Letts says he has been impressed with the group’s ability to deal with complex issues by thinking creatively.

Rhoads says the idea of a working showroom is one many in the area will appreciate.

“Most people probably don’t think much of a toilet flushing, because you expect it to do it. But with the availability of products out there right now, there are some differences between a $70 toilet and a $200 toilet,” Rhoads said.

Providing that insight is just what Genesis leaders have in mind.

“We’d like to be able to use our building to really help educate the entire construction community – even our competition in terms of engineering or construction,” Frietchen said. “If we have a product they’re thinking of using on a project, come in and look at it. The whole industry can’t move forward unless there is ongoing education.”

Letts founded Genesis in 2001, and Frietchen became a partner in 2003. The duo did not provide revenues, though they said the business has grown.

Because the company does both design and installation, Letts says staff members have first-hand knowledge of what will work and what won’t.

“Some of the things engineers put on plans, you just can’t do,” Letts said. “Not because the design is flawed or anything like that. But when you’re actually out there to put the puzzle together like we are, it’s a little bit different. You can be a real good engineer, but you have to know the other side of it as well. That’s the thing that really sets us apart.”[[In-content Ad]]