Mt. Ashland to receive matching funds to install new furniture in renovated lodge.
Interior Office Concepts (IOC), located in Downtown Medford has announced further commitment to assist with Mt Ashland’s furniture standards through a $20,000 matching donation. IOC’s main furniture partner Knoll has also agreed to provide all furniture at a significantly reduced cost to help IOC and Mt. Ashland make the greatest budgetary impact possible.
“We are grateful and very excited Interior Office Concepts is willing to support the region and Mt. Ashland with this generous donation,” Mt. Ashland General Manager Hiram Towle noted. “With community and business support like that of IOC, the Mt. Ashland Ski Area will continue to grow as a destination for recreationists and visitors from locations throughout the Pacific Northwest,” he added.
The planning process for furnishings began with an evaluation of the existing layout and structure occupancy limits. Trends of where the greatest percentage of the people visiting Mt. Ashland lodge tend to congregate were carefully evaluated. A budget was established floor-by-floor, starting with the main level budget of $40,000. In addition to IOC’s furniture donation, the local business has also committed to donating all services including design, project management and installation of the furniture.
“Most of our team members are raising families in Southern Oregon so it’s important to all of us on a personal level. We live and work in a wonderful community and we are very thankful to have a mountain within 45 minutes of our Medford office. Not only does Mt. Ashland assist with bringing families and friends together but it allows us to have an advantage with attracting highly effective team members to Southern Oregon as we continue to grow. We are all in this community, together. We believe it is our responsibility to help where we can,” IOC President Justin Steffens noted. “With Knoll’s offer of reduced pricing, Mt. Ashland’s leadership can recognize significant savings on quality products that will still look current and be in use for many years,” he added.
“We’ve selected versatile indoor/outdoor furniture for most of the seating. The tables will be the Knoll Dividends Horizon series, which are good, robust tables. We have a few breakout areas planned with some soft seating pieces. The master plan has details for the multiple levels within the lodge. Casual seating areas with a lot of charging stations and even an eating area that doubles as workstations-so parents or others who don’t ski can still have a fun place to charge and get some work done if needed. We want to make sure there are places for families and friends to connect and a place for the non-skiers to still be comfortable and have an enjoyable time on the mountain,” Steffens added.
“Furnishings for the lodge were outside the fundraising campaign budget,” Towle explained. “Donations with a match invite local businesses and community members to participate in large projects and make completion achievable for smaller communities such as ours,” he added.
Mt. Ashland’s lodge interior renovation is nearing completion just in time for the anticipated 2017-18 season. Ashland architecture firm KSW, Ashland based Adroit Construction and multiple local contractors contributed to the lodge project.
A match donation of $500,000 from the Sid and Karen DeBoer Foundation earlier this year significantly boosted the lodge renovation project.
About Mt. Ashland:
Mt. Ashland is a community-focused ski area owned and operated by the non-profit Mt. Ashland Association under a special-use permit from the U.S. Forest Service.
About IOC:
IOC is a locally owned office furniture provider founded in 1998. Within the last year, the company has experienced significant growth completing projects in 12 states including Hawaii, New Jersey, and Alaska. IOC employs 15 people in Southern Oregon.
About Knoll:
Knoll is Modern Always because modern always works.
Knoll uses modern design to connect people to their work, their lives, their world. Since 1938, Knoll has been recognized internationally for creating workplace and residential furnishings that inspire, evolve, and endure.
Today, our commitment to modern design, our understanding of the nature of work, and our dedication to sustainable design have yielded a unique portfolio of thoughtful products that respond and adapt to changing needs.
