See how one Florida optometrist converted an iconic firehouse into a highly distinctive space for his fast-growing practice

talk about hot stuff. Beach Vision is not only a high-tech practice offering the latest and greatest in eye care and eyewear, but it also recently relocated to a pretty cool building—an almost 70-year-old firehouse.

Charles D. Register, O.D., has operated his optometry practice in the award-winning beach town of New Smyrna Beach, FL, since 1997. So, when it came time for a new home, it was only fitting that he chose a location that was as much of a mainstay in the community as he is himself.

“The firehouse has been a longstanding structure in the community, which is why we took this challenge so seriously,” he explains.

The new location opened at the end of May 2016 and was met with rave reviews. “Patients tell us regularly how happy they are that we renovated the building instead of tearing it down,” he says.

Here, this innovative optometrist shares the specifics of how he was able to maintain the personality of the building while using its assets to enhance the patient experience.

A Firehouse…

Beach Vision is located in the city’s former central fire station, which dates back to 1948. It was the second fire station for the city and is located in the business district of New Smyrna Beach. We are very proud to have this great history associated with our building.

It was important for us to keep the character of the firehouse preserved, but we also knew we needed to modernize it. We maintained the firehouse’s structure and history in our revitalization of the building, while also keeping its original charm intact.

The Big Challenges…

As expected, the original structure was a sturdy one. The original walls of the building are very thick concrete mixed with stone. These walls were very hard to cut through, which meant that we needed to design our space within the existing interior walls.

We added new walls to accommodate our large laboratory, exam rooms, contact lens room, office, and staff break room.

We were able to use the firetruck garage bays as the retail space. This provided us with lots of natural sunlight throughout the day because of the garage-style windows.

As we got further along in the project, we realized, however, that we had plenty of windows but not enough wall space for optical displays. To solve this problem, we opened up another room and added floating glass window displays for additional frames at the front of the store.

Natural Light…

The front of Beach Vision faces west, which allows us to enjoy amazing light in the building. It highlights the natural beauty of the frames we carry. We appreciate the benefits of the natural light until the late afternoon sun is shining directly into the office. At that point in the day, we use retractable sheer blinds to keep the light from being too bright for our customers.

Unique Touches…

Industrial Chic. Our goal in designing Beach Vision was to incorporate the historic details of the building and meld it with a contemporary feel. Our operating words for the remodel were “industrial chic.” We wanted patients to be drawn to the interest of the building, while feeling a healthy juxtaposition with the contemporary interiors.

Stone Desk. We took great pride in designing our reception desk, which has become one of our patients’ favorite details. We worked with a stone fabricator who was truly an artisan. He took our ideas and brought them to life. It’s a one-of-a-kind desk that is definitely a focal point and the first thing you notice when you enter.

LED Lighting. The display shelves are backlit with LED lights. After seeing the shelving, we realized how great the space would look at night if we had additional lighting, so we took it a step further and created an LED backlit sign over the reception desk. We also added exterior lighting to highlight the outside of the building and red LED lights in the bell tower.

Fire Pole. To keep with our theme, a fire pole remains in its original location within the retail space. Our goal was to integrate old pieces into the firehouse while incorporating the new touches, which helps keep the space authentic and modern.

Eyewear Display…

We wanted to have clean lines throughout the interior to keep the focus on the eyeglasses. We worked with Helen Rogic at One Interior to create a custom design for our practice that would complement our space. We used One Interior’s SoHo shelves with backlit LED lights to highlight the colors of the frames and make the space beautiful.

We also incorporated glass shelving, which is suspended by rods from the ceiling. This gives us additional frame display and fits wonderfully in the front windows. The shelving makes an amazing impact on the space and highlights each frame. It is beautiful, while still keeping the focus on what’s important: the product being sold.

High-Tech Exams…

We have three examination rooms that all feature waterfall leather granite countertops on wood cabinets. The rooms are computerized with Acuity Pro electronic eye charts. The visual field tester and OCT have their own space with a rolling barn door made of 100-year-old pine.

The Right Experience…

We are a boutique optical and want our customers to have a wonderful, personalized experience. We pride ourselves on creating a warm environment. With all the choices patients have, we want to stand out for our excellent customer service, unique product, superb patient care, and thorough eye exams.

—Jackie Micucci