From the Ground Up: State Farm Insurance office

Owner/developer: BRDFRD Properties LLC
General contractor: BP Builders LLC
Architect: H Design Group LLC
Engineers: Anderson Engineering Inc., civil; Bergmann Engineering Co. LLC, structural; and CJD Engineering LLC, mechanical, electrical and plumbing
Size: 4,700 square feet
Estimated cost: $600,000, per city permit
Lender: State Bank of Southwest Missouri
Estimated completion: July
Project description: On a narrow, half-acre lot fronting Glenstone Avenue and kitty-corner from Battlefield Mall, State Farm Insurance agent Rob Akers is building a new office. The building also has double the space for tenants. Akers plans to occupy 1,700 square feet on the building’s south side, leaving roughly 3,000 square feet open to lease. Organized as BRDFRD Properties LLC, he originally wanted the work complete in December. “This has taken longer than I thought,” Akers said, noting a contractor change from Varsity Contactors Inc. played a part. No tenants have signed on yet, but Akers said lawyers, real estate firms and other service businesses have expressed interest. He declined to disclose the asking rates. Architects have described the style as midcentury modern. “I wanted something that looked different and to provide small-business owners like myself that Class A office space,” Akers said. “That’s hard to find on Glenstone, a lot of it is second tier or strip centers.”