Sweetwater CEO Chuck Surack and local dignitaries broke the ground in a ceremony to mark the commencement of this giant project. The new building will span 44 acres and have 150,000 square cutting edge warehouse, distribution and shipping facilities, as well as greatly expanded retail store, recording studio and auditorium. The project has been possible due to Sweetwater's large growth over previous years and is designed to support Sweetwater’s future expansion over the coming years. The company currently has more than 220 employees and expects to reach $180 million in annual sales and 450 employees by 2010. “Sweetwater’s explosive growth has resulted in a need for significantly larger facilities,� Surack stated. “This new campus gives us greatly expanded warehouse and shipping space, plus room to grow our marketing, sales, recording studio, and local retail departments. It will be a wonderful place for our employees to work from, and will offer many benefits to our local and regional customers.� A new multi-room professional recording studio, designed by Russ Berger, will be part of the expansion, and will feature acoustical and technical design that will be on par with the finest recording studios in the world. A wide range of employee amenities will be featured, including a private health club and racquetball court, indoor/outdoor restaurant-style dining, coffee shops, indoor video golf, pool tables, and other recreation items, onsite print shop, a DVD lending library, and professional services including banking, legal, medical, and much more. Customers will be treated to a state-of-the-art retail experience, as well as a broad range of convenient amenities. Sweetwater have also designed with the environment in mind with the campus being one of the first LEED-certified facilities in the region. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program promotes facility design that practices environmental awareness and conservation, while simultaneously achieving economical performance. The certification process rates the site, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere treatment, materials and resources used, the indoor environment, and the overall innovation in the design. “We’ve always been concerned with the environment, and have long practiced recycling and other conservation methods here at Sweetwater,� says Surack. “But the LEED certification of our new facility as a ‘green’ building will demonstrate our commitment to protecting the environment and enhancing our company’s relationship with its natural surroundings. It’s a huge benefit in so many ways, both for us and for our community.� There's a pretty nifty Quicktime fly through from the architects on the sepcial page Sweetwater have created at
www.sweetwater.com/feature/expansion

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