The Keck Group, which owns and operates a state-of-the-art pew refinishing facility in Middletown, NY, is proud to welcome a new next-door neighbor, Catholic Charities Services of Orange County.
Keck Properties recently negotiated with Catholic Charities at 1011 First Avenue to lease and subsequently build out an 8,000-square-foot office/conference facility in the Keck Group’s 11,000-square-foot adjoining space. Agreement was reached in April of this year and the build-out was completed by the appointed deadline four months later.
Keck Properties finished the construction on time and in full compliance with all building, safety, and fire regulations. Catholic Charities took possession of their new custom-designed space on August 1, 2012, and from there they will continue to serve the community by offering their services to neighbors in need in the Middletown, NY area.
Bob Koeck, president of The Keck Group, Inc., is thrilled with this new arrangement. Still, he is happily amazed at how the agreement and resulting lease came to fruition: “In my wildest dreams I would have never envisioned having Catholic Charities, an integral part of the Archdiocese of New York, as a tenant,” he said. “And to think, it all came about because of a chance meeting in the ’70s.”
Looking back, Koeck recalls how representatives of the New York Catholic Community, who had heard about his church pew restoration business, approached him for more information: “Instead of just explaining to them what we did and what was involved in the restoration and refinishing process, we invited them to take a tour of our facility. As we were showing them around, pointing out the pews and other religious furnishings in various stages of restoration, we started to form a sort of bond. We really clicked.”
That one meeting led to their first business contract and gradually developed into a long-term working relationship–one that has flourished for over forty years.
Koeck adds that he is really looking forward to the upcoming dedication of the new facility by Cardinal Dolan on April 14th, 2013. And this time he hopes to give the Cardinal a tour of the shop. Why? So His Eminence can see first hand, pews from his own congregation being refinished—the ones that came from and will be returned to the famous St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan.
caption: The new site of Catholic Charities Services of Orange County owned by Keck Properties, LLC, adjacent to The Keck Group’s church pew restoration and refinishing facility in Middletown, NY.