Graphix Signs & Embroidery rebuilding underway

June 14--HOLLAND TWP. -- The rebuilding process is underway at Graphix Signs and Embroidery as construction crews are preparing the site for the construction of a new building.

The Holland business, which has been in operation for 27 years and has been at 11223 E Lakewood Blvd. for 26 of those years, was destroyed in a Nov. 20 fire which local firefighters fought for nearly nine hours. Police ruled the cause of the blaze as arson.

Following an investigation, law enforcement found evidence of forced entry and a Michigan State Police K-9 smelled accelerants at the scene.

On Monday, June 11, 17-year-old David Anthony Pelon pleaded guilty to breaking and entering into a building with intent to commit a felony and is believed to be an accomplice to Holland Township resident Shane Wheeler, 49, who has been charged with breaking and entering and arson.

Six months later, Marcia Essenburg, owner of the local business, said she is ready to rebuild having begun the planning process immediately after the fire.

"It's really exciting," Essenburg said. "It is time to move on and start over. We want to make sure that they didn't win. That is why we are ready to rebuild. We have been working on the plans since the building burned. They are taking the last part of the building down and then will start on footings."

Essenburg said they are working on getting permits, which contractor Neil Ruffner said should come in the next two to three days.

Since the fire, Essenburg said the business has continued to operate out of a temporary location at 581 Ottawa Ave. and it will continue there until the new building is complete.

Moving forward, the new structure will be 10,000-square-feet, but will have a completely different layout from the old building. It will be a major size increase for the business, which has been working out of the 1,500-square-foot temporary space since the fire.

Ruffner said the new building is going to be high-tech steel with a mezzanine, more space for employees to work along with new office space and new signage.

According to Ruffner, he hopes to have the new building done by Christmas, but said the company is doing everything it can to speed up the process.

"I have been working with the Essenburgs since early December and have helped them get through the insurance process and have looked through different designs and buildings and get with the architect," Ruffner said. "It has been a really good experience."

Despite the fire and all the difficulty it caused for Essenburg, her niece Kelsey Posma and others, Essenburg said she could not have done it all without the support of the local community, including firefighters, her employees and local businesses who helped finish orders.

"The most important thing has been the outreach of the local community," she said. "That was amazing. People that called us, came down, emailed us, offered their services and asked what they could do."

Essenburg said it has been an emotional experience.

"We are ready to move on and we are ready to have the past be the past," she said. "We don't want to live in the bitterness of the past. They did what they did, but they are not going to win. We don't want anything to do with them. ... They are losers and they deserve to be where they are right now, which is in jail."

For more information about Graphix and for updates on construction, visit graphixsignsandembroidery.com or its Facebook page at Graphix Signs & Embroidery.

-- Follow this reporter on Twitter @SentinelAustin or @BizHolland.

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