Boulevard Home Furnishings Builds New $8.4 Million Distribution Center

Furniture World Magazine

Boulevard Home Furnishings is more than doubling the size of its distribution capacity with a new $8.4 million warehouse at 227 N. Old Hwy. 91 in Hurricane, Utah. St. Louis-based ARCO is serving as design/build contractor, Atlanta-based USSI is serving as designer and St. Louis-based GMA Design Group is serving as architect on the 169,572-square-foot facility, which is scheduled for completion in May 2006. “We’ve been able to more than double the size of our operations over the past five years,” said Dave Waters, project manager for Boulevard. “The market we serve has really grown as well as the demand for our products. The new state-of-the-art distribution center will be better equipped to store and improve the flow of product.” Boulevard Home Furnishings has been serving the residents of Southern Utah, Arizona and Nevada since it was established by the Wittwer family in 1974. Boulevard has two showrooms in St. George, Utah and Mesquite, Nevada, and plans to open a third showroom in Cedar City, Utah in 2008. The St. George showroom is the largest home furnishings store in Utah. Boulevard offers furniture, electronics, appliances and floor coverings. The company has approximately 200 employees, 80 of which will be based at the new distribution center. Boulevard’s current distribution center at 459 N. 3050 East in St. George has been sold. The new two-story distribution center is currently emerging on a 28-acre site near Interstate 15. The building will feature a 130,000-square-foot warehouse with loading docks, furniture and appliance repair shops, office space and a 1,600-square-foot workout facility for employees. In addition to its storage capabilities, customers will be able to pick-up purchases at the center and the building will host a clearance center for damaged items. The building is being built using 50-foot tilt-up concrete panels. The exterior and canopied main entry will be highlighted by Boulevard’s signature red color. The warehouse will feature 38.5-foot clear-height ceilings with an Fmin 65 super flat floor slab and an in-rack sprinkler system. There will be 28 dock doors, and more than 130 parking spaces will be provided. “ARCO’s design/build techniques have been enormously helpful in conceptualizing a design that meets our budget,” said Waters. “They’ve been able to tailor the building to meet our specific needs.” The Boulevard project is ARCO’s 12th warehouse/distribution facility assignment for the home furnishing industry in the past eight years.