| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : NOVEMBER 6, 2000 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| FRONTIER -- WORKPLACE
21st Century Gingerbread GMA Capital LLC Farmington Hills, Mich. WHAT IT DOES: Investment banking EMPLOYEES: 10 GOAL: To blend the old with the new for an image of solid dependability and sophistication. COST: $2.25 million Walk up to the front door of GMA Capital's new offices, and you might wonder whether you've traveled in time back to the 1880s. The headquarters of the Farmington Hills (Mich.) investment bank and venture-capital firm is a 115-year-old Victorian house with a sunny yellow paint job, a stately front porch, and fanciful gingerbread trim. But go inside, and you'll find yourself in a cool, thoroughly 21st century interior--more suited to Silicon Valley than suburban Detroit. That disconnect suits Charles Rothstein, GMA Capital's founder and managing director, just fine. ''The building is symbolic of what we stand for,'' he says. ''We have a traditional business, but bring a new energy to it.'' New energy is exactly what Rothstein, 41, was looking for when the lease expired on GMA's previous home, an undistinguished, 3,500-square-foot space in an upscale suburban office complex. The firm, which has some $100 million under management, was ready for a new look, one that befit its high-tech specialty. When a partner first showed Rothstein the Victorian house, he was less than impressed. Although it had been built more than a century ago by a prominent local farmer, it had later been converted into a warren of dark and musty offices. Nevertheless, he asked his architect friend Ken Neumann to take a look. Neumann was so impressed by its potential that he offered to take on the project himself. Neumann faithfully restored the exterior of the National Historic Register property, but gutted the insides completely. He added thoroughly modern touches--marble floor tiles, dramatic glass paneling, and sleek blond-wood furnishings. So far, visitors seem impressed. ''There's an efficiency to their organization that's reflected not only in their people, but also in their facility,'' says James Mault, CEO of HealtheTech Inc., a Golden (Colo.) outfit that GMA invested in. A pricey renovation, the cost included $675,000 to buy the house. ''It was probably an awful real estate investment,'' Rothstein admits with a laugh. ''But it was a great business investment. It's given us a new identity.'' A perfect marriage of something old, something new. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP |
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