BL Companies earns Best in Class Commercial/Retail Project from CREW CT

New Haven, CT The overall challenge for BL Companies, Inc. was to translate the creative visions of Jordan’s CEO, Eliot Tatelman and the Jordan’s Team into bricks and mortar reality for the new Jordan’s Furniture store. But first was the challenge to rebrand the building, which over the years has become a part of the New Haven fabric for travelers as a benchmark along I-95.

It had to be treated as something new, and unique, and, immediately recognized as the Jordan’s building. The demographics in the area are marginal since the adjacent shoreline means there are no customers to the south. But I-95 carries nearly 200,000 cars per day past the building, which is immediately adjacent. What would it take for those drivers to notice the building, raise their curiosity, and lure them off the road?

The “wonder wall” was Eliot’s solution to initiate that task. A trapezoidal frame reaching a height of 67 feet, infilled with some sort of metal filigree, washed in light, and supporting the Jordan’s sign along with another sign that simply says “It”. From a distance it is certainly noticeable, as it needs to be to attract the attention of drivers on a busy stretch of highway.

Once the visitor enters the parking area and approaches the entrance it becomes apparent that the metal filigree in the sign is actually made up of chairs, 330 of them in fact. And so the adventure begins. Once inside the visitor is exposed to the furniture, while finding their way to “It”. An unusually large volume of space at the back of the building that once housed the towering printing press now contains “It”, the world’s largest indoor ropes course, complete with zip lines that traverse a fountain with water jets and laser lights choreographed to music. Blaze Pizza where you can build your own pizza and fire it in three minutes and Scoop-It Ice Cream round out the entertainment experience and provide the attraction to encourage people to visit. And, the visit provides the opportunity to be exposed to the fashion of furniture.

The new facility has created approximately 200 new jobs for the region and created a new family friendly recreation venue that draws visitors not only from New Haven, but from surrounding regions. In addition, it has taken a building that would arguably have been very difficult to find another use for and converted it into a center of attraction rather than have it become an empty shell along the gateway to the city.