Downtown law firm prepares to move

McDonald, Hosmer, King & Royce PC won’t move from the sixth floor of the Jim D. Morris Center for Continuing Education, 300 S. Jefferson Ave., until late summer, but the firm will stay in center city.

In January, three of the firm’s four partners – attorneys Craig Hosmer, Stuart King and James Royce – purchased the former Webb’s Wallpaper building at 313 S. Glenstone Ave. from owner Bill Webb, who moved his business south to capitalize on retail traffic. Webb said the land use around his former wallpaper store at the corner of Glenstone and East Cairo Street has changed since he bought the property in 1999.

“When we moved in there, there was a Consumer’s Market across the street and Hermann Lumber, and they’re both gone,” he said. “It’s turned into offices around there.”

The renamed Webb’s Blinds & Wallpaper is now leasing 2,200 square feet in Brentwood Center, 2640 S. Glenstone Ave., across from Battlefield Mall.

Commercial Realtor Mike Mellinger, who brokered the transaction, listed the 5,500-square-foot building for $575,000, but Webb declined to disclose the sales price.

“I would have much rather paid a lot less,” joked King, who said the firm is looking forward to the benefits of ownership. “The selling point for us is we’ll own it … rather than paying rent forever.”

Signage and a high traffic count are other advantages offered by the Glenstone site.

“A million cars can drive by this building (the Morris Center) and not know we’re here,” King said.

Downtown digs

McDonald, Hosmer, King & Royce has leased the sixth floor at 300 S. Jefferson from the Missouri State University Alumni Association since 1995, Royce said. Business litigation, personal injury, criminal defense and family law are among the practice areas covered by the firm’s five practicing attorneys. The firm also has an office in Marshfield.

King said the firm began actively seeking property in or near downtown about three years ago.

The partners were initially interested in two downtown parcels, one of which was scooped by another Springfield law firm. Last summer, Strong, Garner & Bauer PC purchased the building at East Chestnut Expressway and North Jefferson Avenue formerly occupied by BTS Group Inc., a processor of Social Security disability claims and appeals.

“They beat us to the punch,” King said.

Royce said the firm also considered a lease-purchase agreement for space in the Wilhoit Plaza building just south of the Downtown YMCA, but the Webb’s building won out.

King said the firm would keep its name, but it’s unclear whether partner Bill McDonald would remain affiliated with his counterparts.

“I’m exploring my options,” McDonald said.

Modern metamorphosis

Before Webb transformed the single-story building into a wallpaper emporium, it was a clothing store, realty office and even a headquarters for a local cattlemen’s association, Hosmer said.

The building is now on the cusp of a major metamorphosis, and the partners have hired independent architect Joan Hand to design the new look of their office. Hand, who primarily works on residential projects, said she and interior designer Brenda Van Eps are running with the firm’s vision, which Royce described as a mix of modern and retro.

“We’re definitely going modern with this building,” Hand said. “Kind of the cool thing about this building is that the roof is supported by pipe columns, so the corners don’t have to have any kind of structure at all.

We can just wrap the glass right around them. It’s going to be really a nice space inside and have a lot of light.”

The building’s main entrance will be moved to the southwest corner, and the former entrance fronting Glenstone will be converted into office space, Hand said. Parking spaces on the building’s east side will be replaced with landscaping, she added.

Inside, offices will line the building’s outer edge, and the inner portion will comprise a lobby, three conference rooms and a law library.

Some of the common areas will have open ceilings with exposed ductwork to create a “loft-like feeling,” added Hand, who said bold color wouldn’t be off limits.

Renovations are expected to be complete by August, and Royce said the project remains on schedule and still within the firm’s $450,000 budget. The partners have hired Robert Hood with Professional Project Management LLC to oversee bidding and construction.

Shared space

When McDonald, Hosmer, King & Royce moves, King said the firm would be looking to lease office space to other attorneys.

“There is some synergy to having other attorneys to share resources with and ideas and referrals,” King said.

While the partners have not yet determined exactly how much space will be available for lease or at what rates, King said the firm would probably rent space for at least three small offices.