Louisville company leaves longtime Phoenix Hill site to make way for mixed-use development

A longtime Louisville company that specializes in high-end security system products is settling into its new location a few blocks away from the building it had called home since 1972.

Deco A/V, which installs security cards, card readers, closed-circuit televisions and other security products for companies in Louisville and the Midwest, recently relocated to a 12,000-square-foot building it bought late last year at 1338 Hull St.

The property is just a few blocks away from its former home, a 3,000-square-foot building at 650 Baxter Ave., said P. Martin Riche Jr, president and CEO of Deco A/V.

Deco A/V vacated the Baxter Avenue building last year after Columbus, Ohio-based developer Edward Cos. bought the building from Riche Properties LLC, a company controlled by Riche’s family, for $1.3 million, according to a Jefferson County deed.

Edwards Cos. has paid millions to scoop up Phoenix Hill properties for construction of a mixed-use development along Baxter Avenue and Broadway that will have 250 or more apartment units. The project has been estimated at about $50 million, and the company also is developing an apartment complex at the former Mercy Academy site nearby.

Riche said Edwards is an upstanding company and that he hopes the project proves successful, adding that he was happy to relocate his company just a few blocks away.

Riche Properties bought the Hull Street property for $300,000 last year from Jabarr LLC, according to a Jefferson County deed. Riche said the building used to be home to electric contractor Voit Electric Co. and was used decades ago to build boat hulls.

This is the only location for Deco A/V, which has about a dozen employees, including technicians, office support staff and engineers. Riche said only minor alterations— a new paint job and some electrical rewiring — were made to the Hull Street building.

The company dates to the early 1950s and started out doing radio, stereo and television repair, Riche said. That later evolved into security system installment and maintenance.

The company has completed security work for several major hospitals and organizations in the area, including Norton Healthcare Inc., Clark Memorial Hospital, GE Appliance Park and Louisville International Airport.

The company also has designed security systems for 16 Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) facilities across the Midwest, Riche added.

Riche said he is sad to see the company’s former facility go, but believes Edward Cos. will elevate the site.

[Source:-louiseville Business ]