A vacant building with dirty windows and some old newspapers will be getting a new summer look.
Douglas J. Educational Center, 333 Albert Ave., is moving to the storefront on Grand River Avenue next to Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 333 E. Grand River Ave., this spring.
Owner Scott Weaver said the decision to move was because of increased enrollment and business.
“We were looking for 15,000 feet and there isn’t a whole lot of spaces that have that,” he said.
Weaver said the new location will also provide higher exposure to the public and the chance to update much of the equipment used.
“Our students and faculty are very excited,” he said.
Gina Lisenby, director of admissions for the center, said the move is a drastic change from the 9,000 square foot location the center is at now.
She said the first level will have the reception area and the lower levels will house the salon area, instructional area for students, a spa with 10 treatment rooms and a student lounge.
“Students were feeling cramped,” she said. “We knew for them to be successful they needed more room.”
The new location was also chosen for its proximity to MSU.
“It is really interesting because we have a strong business yet it is amazing how many people are not aware of where we are at,” she said.
The new location has been a source excitement also for students.
Isabel Olivito is attending the school as a cosmetology student. Olivito said she started attending the school last September and is happy with the change.
“I have gotten to see what it is going to look like and it is really nice,” she said. “The feel of it is going to be more salonlike, which is always a deciding factor when students visit schools.”
Lisenby also said the other area businesses will be able to feed off of each other.
“We liked the idea of more exposure on Grand River and being next to Barnes & Noble was very appealing to us,” she said.
But the old space isn’t for sale or lease yet.
Lisenby said another salon may stay in the current location but nothing has been made official as of yet.
Diane Tooman, property manager for CB Richard Ellis Martin, 1111 Michigan Ave., said as of now there is nothing has been planned.
“We have a very good relationship and I foresee only an amicable agreement working out,” she said.
The salon, which typically brings in 350 to 500 people a day, has been helpful to some of the area businesses like Marriott University Place, 300 M.A.C. Ave.
“I think it is certainly nice having them here, our customers did like the services they offered, ” Eric Sudol, general manager for the hotel, said. “They are a respectable operation and it is nice to have them in the same building you are in.”
