Selzer-Ornst takes the wheel for Infiniti

Backhoe operator Casey Mueller of New Berlin Grading Inc., Waukesha, and Selzer-Ornst site superintendent Randy Bourassa dig in for the Infiniti project. Photos courtesy of Selzer-Ornst Co.

The Selzer-Ornst team moves from its recently completed work on a Mercedes dealership to prepping for the new Infiniti project.

Selzer-Ornst will hold the distinction of building a national prototype for International Infiniti when the contractor finishes its work on a new Waukesha dealership.

But before it makes claim to that honor, Selzer-Ornst needs to withstand all the challenges that pop up when building a first-of-its-kind building.

“We’ve actually been working on the project for two years,” said Lynn Stein, Selzer-Ornst’s project manager. “It’s gone through a number of design changes.”

Originally, Stein said, the contractor planned to use the old corporate standards to construct the 17,600-square-foot dealership, which shares a 300,000-square-foot lot with a Mercedes Benz dealership that Selzer-Ornst recently completed. But Japan-based The Infiniti Corp. was on the cusp of developing a new prototype, so the contractor held off.

“The vision is coming from Japan, so the challenge was waiting for them to set the elements for the building so we could proceed with the local codes and incorporate them,” Stein said.

The elements — ranging from a radius curtain wall with patterned glass to a featured car with a metal-mesh curtain behind it and a fabric cloud around the car for filtered lighting — will be shared by about five Infiniti prototypes going up around the country. Those prototype ideas, Stein said, represent a big challenge.

“There are always some kinds of nuances in someone’s prototype,” she said.

“For the design elements, you couldn’t drive a couple of hours to see how someone else did it. The first question is, ‘Where do I get that?’

“There was a lot of research on the Internet.”

Adding to the challenge is the fact that Selzer-Ornst is acting as a sort of broker on the job as it tries to mesh the corporate elements with the needs of the dealership’s owner.

“Infiniti puts out a book that says, ‘These are the materials, but you’re not required to use them,’” Stein said. “When you’re dealing with somebody’s vision and design inspiration, and they select a carpet, you’re not always going to match that fleck in the carpet.”

But as the project enters July, the contractor is on its way to blending the expectations of everyone involved. When finished, the single-story dealership will include two stories of space for the showroom as well as sales offices, a service reception and a full-service area.

But, for Stein, there’s still one question left to be answered.

“I just finished Mercedes, and now we’re doing Infiniti,” she said. “It’s a tough call. I’m thinking my company car …”

— Chris Thompson