Insurance agent developing Glenstone office building

A Springfield insurance agent is trying his hand at development.

State Farm Insurance’s Rob Akers is developing a 4,700-square-foot professional office building on the northeast corner of Sunset Street and Glenstone Avenue, across from the Brentwood Center and kitty-corner from Battlefield Mall.

“There’s a good traffic count at that intersection with the mall so close,” Akers said. “There is also very little office space in that area of Glenstone that isn’t in a strip center.

“This is kind of one-of-a-kind.”

Going in on a primarily residential corner at 2560 S. Glenstone Ave., the building’s purpose is twofold: It will serve as a new base of operations for Akers’ agency and as a long-term investment, bringing in income from two potential tenants. Akers plans to occupy about 1,700 square feet on the building’s south side, leaving roughly 3,000 square feet open to lease.

“Someone who is looking for high traffic would fit well,” he said. “Maybe someone like an attorney, who does a lot of marketing and is looking for high visibility, or a dentist.”

Architect H Design Group LLC concepted the modern building with plenty of glass and industrial elements.

“Rob Akers expressed wanting to have a building that would be reminiscent of a midcentury modern style,” H Design Group principal architect Rob Haik said via email. “Because the site actually sits at the corner of Sunset and Glenstone, its location becomes the gateway into Brentwood.”

The building’s simple horizontal siding and painted brick are offset by a high-pitched roof to the south, intended to give it a unique look, Akers said.

“It will have a loft in that part, the side with my office,” he said. “There also will be glass walls inside for a conference room, exposed ceilings and reclaimed wood.”

Akers declined to say how much he’s invested in the project, but a permit on file with Springfield Building Development Services estimates the cost at $600,000.

“It’s not cheap,” Akers said. “The glass bill alone is large.”

Dirt is just starting to move on the project and Akers hopes general contractor Varsity Contractors Inc. can complete work by mid-December.

“My current lease is up at the end of the year,” he said of his 1901a S. Glenstone Ave. space in the shadow of Plaza Tower. “So, I’d like to get this moving fast.”