Former Volo school turned into business center

VOLO – Kodiak Collision Specialists opened its doors in Lakemoor about six months ago, a body shop where all the employees also are owners of the company.

But bringing customers into the shop to sit down and talk about services was a bit crowded and noisy, said Dan Schmitz, the development manager for the company. So it began looking for an off-site office space to house administrative affairs and offer a place to meet with customers away from the work done at the shop.

Kodiak found its office only a mile down the road, in the former Volo Elementary School that since has been converted into a small business center.

"We wanted a place to be more secluded and professional," Schmitz said.

"Something that felt more like an office. This worked out great."

Schmitz and his wife, Tricia – the company's business manager – have been in the office for three months, and he said the visibility from the property has been positive.

"So far, so good. Most people are very familiar with the area, they're familiar with the old school," he said. "We do a lot of marketing in McHenry, Volo, Lakemoor, Fox Lake, and they all know this place."

The former school building closed and had been serving as a storage facility for the Volo Auto Museum. That's when Island Lake resident Dan Field and his business partner, Tom Jiaras, bought the property and began interior buildouts to convert the space to a business center.

"We met the owner of the building [Field] and he's a great guy," Schmitz said. "It was just a shell project at that time, but he came through with everything he said, and it worked out real well.

"We looked at a place down 120 in McHenry, but it didn't seem right. It was a little too commercial for us. This was professional, and homey."

Since Kodiak moved in as the first tenant, two other businesses have joined the center.

One is AtomAMPD, a communications company led by Field that provides networking, security, wireless and phone solutions for businesses.

The other is Digital Schools, a firm headed by Sarah Beyne that provides software to integrate human resources, financial and payroll functions for K-12 schools.

Their additions to the site will help Kodiak's business as well, Schmitz said.

"I believe it will, absolutely," he said. "We just had a neighbor move in next door to us and we've got a relationship started there, and the guy down the hall is great, too."

The office allows Schmitz to toggle between the body shop and its four service technicians and the seclusion of the office space.

"It's nice to get out of the office and get into the shop once in a while, but it's also very nice to get out off the shop once in a while to be in the quiet office," he said.