Evan Vitale Consulting: Gainesville consulting company moves into renovated gas station

Monday, November 17, 2014

Gainesville consulting company moves into renovated gas station – Gainesville Times

Latest post from Evan Vitale Consulting -

The former Lee’s Pure Oil Service Station has been renovated and set up as a new corporate headquarters.

The Oxley Group, a consulting firm that works with clients on communication, leadership and customer service, moved into the space the first week of September after heavy renovations.

“We haven’t completely decorated everything yet or anything like that or furnished everything, but we are in,” said President and founder Andrew Oxley.

The group has been on Green Street for the past 20 years, hoping to use this space as its corporate headquarters. Crews worked over the summer to revitalize the decaying property.

Oxley said the group is trying to decide the proper furniture and installations inside to match its corporate goals. As the group works with clients often on hiring best practices, building a relaxed conference space can put the clients at ease.

“We want to create more of a relaxed atmosphere with some more comfortable chairs and maybe some tables … almost make it feel more like a coffee shop atmosphere than a conference room,” Oxley said.

The group has old-style carriage doors installed on the exterior, stripping down the old portico.

“There was a lot of stuff we had to tear out because it was rotten underneath the façade there and different places,” Oxley said in June during the renovations.

The building, which is believed to have been built in the 1940s, had been a staple of Green Street and Gainesville as a gas station. The business, operated by M.L. Lee, stood for around 30 years.

When Home Federal Savings & Loan Association bought the location in the 1970s, it was used as office space for rent. The group would later merge with SunTrust, with the space being used for storage and parking in recent years.

Source