The nearly 70,000-square-foot, two-story building will house executive offices, too

The second phase of Bear Creek Corp.’s five-year, $50 million expansion plan is under way.

The parent company of Harry and David will begin construction Feb. 14 on a $12 million building that will encompass nearly 70,000 square feet in two stories. The building will go up on the former site of a 50-year-old warehouse and loading dock.

The new structure will house a 35,000-square-foot 600-seat call center, lobby and break room on the ground level, with 34,000 square feet set aside for executive offices on the second floor.

"This construction will provide an optimal environment for our call center and will allow us to offer year-round, world-class customer service," Nancy Tait, Bear Creek president and chief executive officer, said in a release.

In June 1998, Bear Creek launched an $8 million expansion and remodel of its offices along South Pacific Highway. The company converted the single-story center section into a two-story building with 56,000 square feet.

But it didn’t address a logistical dilemma that left call-center employees scattered throughout three floors.

"We really needed to capture the efficiencies of having all of our associates on one floor," said Scott Anderson, senior vice president of operations support.

During peak operation the center has just under 500 employees.

"This gives us the flexibility to grow our call center operation," Anderson said, "not only for own business but for third-party contracts as well."

Bear Creek also runs call centers in Hebron, Ohio, and in Eugene, where in peak months it taps into the University of Oregon’s student population.

Bear Creek’s expansion was stimulated in part by tax breaks associated with its inclusion in the Medford Urban Growth Boundary Enterprise Zone in January of 2002.

The $3.7 million first-phase was completed last summer as Bear Creek added 7,000 square feet to its specialty food and confection operations.

Company officials have not released any specifics on future phases of the expansion.

Although the new office structure is roughly 87 percent the size of the new Jackson County Library, the contractor for the project says there are some decided differences.

"It’s not far off from the size of the library, but the library is full of books," says Tom Hall, vice president of S&B James Construction Co., of White City. "Structure-wise, the second floor of the library has to be built for heavier loads. This is very technical project, because of the call center. ... You’re talking 600 work stations, each with a computer. It’s just going to be wires like you’ve never seen."

The contractor’s challenge is finishing by Oct. 1, when Bear Creek’s busy season begins.

"The time line is tough, because we didn’t get in to start demolition until after the first of the year," Hall said.

Call center employees are scheduled to move from the company’s west office building to the new building by Oct. 1. Executive offices will be moved from the east office building in early February 2004, when final construction is expected to be completed.

The east office building will then be used to house a growing number of executives from Bear Creek’s parent company, Yamanouchi Consumer Inc.

YCI, located in Pleasanton, Calif., is the parent company of Shaklee and INOBYS Ltd. as well. Anderson said YCI shares a growing number of people and departments, including information technology, with the Bear Creek plant.

"We certainly feel there are a number of pluses by relocating people to the Medford area," he said.

Activity that occurred at the former warehouse and dock included the storage and shipment of many of the 7.5 million packages sent annually for Bear Creek subsidiary companies Harry and David and Jackson & Perkins. That has shifted elsewhere, including a materials staging facility built in 2001.

Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or e-mail business@mailtribune.com.