Fifty years after the company’s founding in 1971, Franz Witte Nursery celebrated the opening of its brand-new Garden Center in Nampa, Idaho. The new corporate headquarters includes administrative, merchandising, storage, and maintenance buildings that work together to create a one-stop shop for customers and company operations alike.
Located along 11th Ave North and Highway 20/26, the selected site was the old Naugle Hereford Ranch, a well-known cattle farm dating back to the early 1900s. The family ranch was widely recognized for its stewardship of the site over the decades. An important goal for the design team was to preserve as much historical integrity from the original property as possible. Visitors to the site can see the lovingly preserved large white barn with its red roof built in the late ’30s, and the first brick silo in the area built in 1942.
This project included the site development of the entire 20 acres, which encompassed water, sewer, power, and gas utilities; a full parking lot; landscaping; production greenhouses; a maintenance shop; and the preservation of a smaller storage building, among other features. Franz Witte and his staff wanted to incorporate these new, modernized site amenities and new buildings that have exterior forms and finishes, creating a clean, functional, and contextually appropriate design solution.
In addition to preserving several historical buildings in the overall layout, key features included a large new state-of-the-art greenhouse attached to the retail sales areas complete with automated shades, dampers, and ventilation.
The Garden Center building has an open floor plan design ideal for retail displays and sales of home goods, décor, and of course, plants! A sizeable administrative building was constructed to house management, design, and operations personnel. Two separate shop buildings were constructed-one for receiving/storing merchandise and sensitive goods, and the other to function as a large maintenance building for various equipment, tools, and house construction-related supplies. The site improvements included numerous outdoor shade structures, bulk bin storage, designated plant and tree sales areas, and other lawn care facilities.
In the words of Franz Witte’s President, Seneca Hull, “It brings us the opportunity to do new things and keep the history while growing our own.” CSHQA is proud to have played a part in supporting this longstanding Idaho business in its ongoing success. Franz Witte’s new home honors its decades of hard work, the rich and meaningful history of the project site, and the company’s bright future ahead as it continues serving customers from throughout the region.
