PROJECT: CREW CARWASH
Crew Carwash is an iconic business brand in Indianapolis and beyond and Parallel Design Group certainly considered it a great privilege to earn their business.
Previously located in Fishers off of Hague Road, Crew had outgrown their Support Team Office. With parking spots maxed out and crowded office spaces, all parties involved knew it was time for a relocation. They would need a major renovation or a totally new office space.
Crew Carwash worked with the City of Fishers as they identified the perfect space to grow into and an ideal spot for their first car wash location in the community; a vacant property next to Top Golf for a new office and car wash.
The goal was to develop this land with a new office where the corporate office resides, award winning associate and leadership training takes place and incorporating a customer-facing element; the car wash! The office alone is a total of 40,000 sq. ft. with plenty of room for growth. Crew plans to utilize 20,000 square feet on the first floor and lease the top floor space to a future tenant.
Sally Grant, third generation of the family business who serves as Executive Vice President of Crew, along with her father Bill Dahm (Crew Carwash CEO) and Justin Furr (Director of Real Estate and Development at Crew Carwash) all toured multiple properties to get a feel of what felt right for their future digs from a design perspective. After seeing CEDIA HQ and falling in love with the design, Crew’s longtime friends at Cripe contacted Parallel. CEDIA was designed by our Senior Interior Designer Kaitlyn Barrett, making her a perfect fit for the project and after a series of interviews, our design team (Kaitlyn, Briana and Alex) couldn’t wait to get started!
We sat down with Sally - granddaughter of founder, Joe Dahm, who started the first Mike's Carwash in Ft. Wayne in 1948 who shared all about the history of the family business. Her grandfather Joe saw the unique need for an automatic car wash and since that day - Mike's Carwash had seen quick and great growth and later expanded to Indianapolis in 1985. Sally has literally grown up watching in admiration of all of the great people who have helped evolve the business throughout the decades and after a few years working outside of the family business in sales and marketing roles, there was an opportunity to join the team, her father and other family members in the company in 2005. And since then she hasn't looked back.
THE FAMILY BUSINESS
Fast forward to 2014 where the family ownership team of Mike's were intentional in thinking about succession planning. They conducted a friendly reorganization so that both Bill and Mike could each implement their own vision separately. Bill’s locations remained in Central Indiana and Mike kept locations Ft. Wayne and Ohio and the name “Mike’s”. When Bill and team was challenged with renaming the company, they wanted a short name that represented the best part of their business- their outstanding people. The name “Crew” came to life.
Now with soon to be 40 locations across Indiana, Crew takes great pride in giving back to the community as one of their ultimate pillars of success. Each year, they give away close to 1.3 million dollars to nonprofits and fundraising programs and they love giving back! Additionally, Crew is known to hire only one applicant out of 50, as the process is very tedious for a reason; they are drawn to people who want to work hard, have great integrity, and accountability. Many see Crew as a career; not just a job. Many Location Managers and Area Directors have been with the company for 15+ years, some as many as 25-30!
THE DESIGN PROCESS
Growing pains were experienced at the old HQ off of Hague Road. So much in fact that some closets became offices!
Like many companies, Crew chose to be flexible during the global pandemic and allowed office team members to work remotely when necessary, keeping safety top of mind. Through this (like many), they learned that truly nothing can beat face-to-face collaboration. All of that to say - Crew's crew was eager to offer spaces throughout the design that allowed collaboration - something that was so dearly missed during Covid.
Along with collaboration areas, it was necessary to include conference rooms and offices that provided privacy, and general areas for all where individuals and teams can be together or separate without distractions that you might face in an open environment. Providing the entire office with a large amount of natural light was also extremely important to the team.
With any project that has a million moving parts and pieces, there is bound to be something to solve for in the journey of design execution. Sally shared "Whenever anything has come up, Parallel is very responsive and super quick to resolve. The attention given makes you feel valued. The customer service of Parallel is completely in line with that of Crew, so we make a great team."
Whenever anything has come up, Parallel is very responsive and super quick to resolve. The attention given makes you feel valued. The customer service of Parallel is completely in line with that of Crew, so we make a great team.
PERSONAL DESIGN TOUCHES
Subtle elements that nod to the carwash industry are found in the design throughout the building. Movement in textiles chosen that evoke water and detergent will be incorporated throughout.
Because Crew Carwash has such an extensive history, a historical picture wall will be featured from 1948-today, in hopes of honoring the past and sharing the Crew story to all who walk through the doors.
Honoring the history of Crew Carwash was a must and discussed in the design conversations since day 1. Our design team is working on a tribute to the founders of Crew Carwash, Joe Dahm and his brother, Ed. Big plans are in the works to dedicate the building to both men- Joe still resides in Ft. Wayne and is 94 years young!
MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO?
The social hub! This will be such a huge change from the old location. Employees can get out of sitting at their desk and change up their environment to be more collaborative and casual. The big beautiful windows will create a light and fun environment and this space is hopeful to attract future tenants in the building as well. They can’t wait!