Published February 2002

New home + new park = GROWTH
CEO: Crown Distributing to benefit from space, city from property taxes

By John Wolcott
Herald Business Journal Editor

Crown Distributing Co. Inc. moved into its new multimillion-dollar Arlington headquarters in January, setting the stage for further growth for both the company and its new community.

The state-of-the-art building is the anchor tenant for the company’s 100-acre Crown Park business and commercial center at 172nd Street NE (Highway 531) and 59th Avenue NE, adjacent to the Arlington airport and less than three miles from I-5 and Highway 9.

Crown Distributing’s fleet of 35 semi-tractors-and-trailers and 55 sales vans makes deliveries daily to customers in Snohomish, Skagit, Island and San Juan counties, delivering such Anheuser-Busch products as Budweiser, Redhook, Widmer and Corona brands, plus nonalcoholic drinks, including Snapple and Cascade Clearwater.

With 42 percent of the beer and beverage market in stores scattered from the King County line to Whatcom County, Crown Distributing desperately needed room to grow.

“We outgrew our space in Everett three years ago. Skagit Distributing Northwest of Burlington (purchased by Crown in 2000) outgrew their space five years ago. We needed the efficiencies of having everyone together in a more central facility,” said Peter Bargreen, President/CEO, one of the fourth-generation owners of the longtime family business.

And what a facility it is, a $12.5 million project including the property, road improvements and the $9.7 million office and warehouse building with its eye-appealing design, dominated by a curved-and-canopied front entrance.

At roughly 112,000 square feet, the building includes 29,000 square feet of office space (compared to only 9,000 square feet in the Everett facility) and 83,000 square feet of temperature-controlled warehouse space. The site provides room to expand the structure to a total of 150,000 square feet.

Multiple loading docks provide ample room for the company’s fleet of vehicles, solving a serious problem that hampered operations at the former Everett site, where trucks had to take turns at the warehouse because of space limitations.

“In the new facility, we have ample space and room to grow, with plenty of space for all of the trucks,” he said. And, there’s plenty of space and amenities for the 135 employees.

“We want our employees to enjoy their work areas. They’ve been excited about being here,” Bargreen said, noting that many of them were already living in the Arlington and Marysville area and are now enjoying a shorter commute as well.

There are ample reasons for them to be excited — from the expansive entrance lobby with its colorful slate flooring of India stone to the warmth of the cherry-wood executive office space and the second-floor gathering area with a gas fireplace and overstuffed leather furniture.

“We’re the sixth-largest Anheuser-Busch distributor in Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado. They like their distributorships to reflect the quality image that Anheuser-Busch projects with their facilities, so we tried to accommodate that,” Bargreen said.

As for amenities, the facility includes a kitchen and two break rooms for employees, a small gymnasium with a three-quarter-size basketball court that also provides room for volleyball and pickleball, a weight room with high-tech exercise equipment and even a game room for visiting children.

“We wanted to offer our employees a place for their children to come after school, or when school is closed, and their parents need a place for them to study, read or play games,” Bargreen said. “It’s not a day-care facility, but more of a convenience for working parents.”

The new company headquarters is built not only for the employees but also for corporate functions. The second-floor reception area with the fireplace and couches is adjacent to a high-tech meeting room for up to 70, equipped to project computer images, DVD movies and PowerPoint presentations.

The community has welcomed Crown’s arrival, Bargreen said, noting that the Arlington City Council and Mayor Bob Kraski have been very receptive to the company’s move.

“They’ve been absolutely great to work with. We couldn’t have gotten this done as fast without the help from the city of Arlington,” said Bargreen, adding that further site work will include underground wires in front of the facility along 172nd Street NE and moving power poles along the north side of the site to accommodate the city’s plans to widen 172nd.

“I think our biggest contribution to the community will be in property tax revenue as we grow the (business) park. It’s sure to be in the millions by the time the park is built out. The city will do quite well,” he said.

And how well is Crown Distributing doing?

“We’re doing very well,” Bargreen said. “We don’t talk about revenues, but we can say that we figure on selling 4.3 million cases of product this year. By 2006, if we continue to consolidate (buying other smaller distributors) as we plan, we could grow that volume to 6 million cases.”

The new Arlington facility also is home to the company’s rapidly growing Crown Graphics division, a creator and producer of high-quality banners, logos and other artwork for promoting the company’s wholesale products. The graphics staff is so professional, Bargreen said, that artwork is also done for outside clients.

Also, there’s Crown Development LLC, a separate company owned by the same shareholders who own Crown Distributing. It has been building townhouses, condominiums and small commercial properties in King County for several years, with Greg Blunt as President of the company.

The 100-acre Crown Park, involving Crown Development and a silent partner, is the company’s first industrial project.

For further information, call Crown Distributing at 425-252-4192 or visit www.abwholesaler.com/crowndistributing on the Internet.

Related: Everett is no longer home, but Crown still will have a presence in the city

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