“We were very proud of the fact that during the downturn in the economy we were able to remain at full employment and now with the economy somewhat coming back, business is doing really well,” Pfirman said. “We want to continue to grow.”
Pfirman bought the former Richmond Hardware property at 940 Central Ave. last year for $117,426, according to Butler County Auditor’s Office records online. He acted on the opportunity to buy an adjacent property that became for sale.
“Our original plans weren’t to tear it down. We thought we could use it for Matandy operations, but the more we saw the expense to keep it up, we decided to tear it down,” Pfirman said.
There’s now room to add about 34,000-square-feet onto Matandy’s existing approximately 45,000-square-foot building, but any construction would be built in phases, Pfirman said.
Plans also include developing some of the land facing Central Avenue for retail and restaurants to serve local residents as well as employees and visitors of the nearby Miami University Hamilton and Vora Technology Park campuses, Pfirman said.
“It gives us that opportunity,” he said. “Once we get the entire building torn down and the space cleared out, we’ll have a better feel for what can be laid out in that area.”
But development plans are still early in the works, and Pfirman said he wants to work with the city to determine the allowable uses of the site.
“We want to expand the Knightsbridge, Central Avenue corridor. So much is going on downtown, I feel like there’s an opportunity to do something for the area and residents that have given a good opportunity for Matandy,” he said. “I just want to see that area just really blossom.”
The Matandy family of companies includes steel processor Matandy at 1200 Central Ave.; JN Linrose, which manufactures steel studs for the commercial construction industry at 999 East Ave.; and Lamp Metal Trusses Inc., also at 1200 Central Ave., a subcontractor specializing in cold-formed steel roof trusses and roof decking systems. All three companies employ approximately 100 people combined.
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