Drake Hotel renovations reveal historic splendor

The Drake Hotel at 406 Howard St. in Carthage has been restored to apartments for seniors age 55 and up with low-to-moderate income. It is located in the Courthouse Square Historic District of Carthage, a district that was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

“The Drake reopened this past May, and the first resident moved in on my first day of work, June 5th,” said Travis Roosa, building manager. “Right now we’re about half-full and the residents we have are already socializing and enjoying their new home.”

That’s good news to John Joines, CEO of the Economic Security Corporation of Southwest Area. Joines worked with Springfield developer Carlson-Gardner Inc. to secure funding and manage the renovation.

Carlson-Gardner Inc. and Joines’ group also collaborated on the renovation of the 1913-built Frisco Station building in downtown Joplin. Completed in 2003, the Frisco was renovated into a 57-unit apartment building for senior citizens.

“We went to work on the (Frisco) project and it went just beautifully, so we decided to partner on the Drake,” Joines said.

The four-story building was once a five-star hotel that offered a ballroom, a barber shop, a coffee shop and a fine dining restaurant in the 1920s through the 1930s.

“I have an old menu from the coffee shop that shows lunch prices averaged 40 cents and dinner was about 60 cents,” said Joines, who grew up in Carthage. “The room rates ranged from $1.25 to $2.75 a night.”

The renovations include a first-floor lobby and common area, a community room with a service kitchen and the original atrium opening to the second floor with a skylight overhead. Restoration of the original marble floors, staircases and filigree is also complete.

Residential units include 23 one-bedroom units with bath that range from 560 square feet to 770 square feet with a rental rate of $385 per month. Two -bedroom units with one bath rent for $395 and a two-bedroom, two-bath unit rents for $415.

All units include a stacking washer-dryer combination, central heating and air conditioning, appliances and parking and are wired for Internet access.

The project was developed by a public-private partnership with funding for the restoration coming from affordable housing credits from both federal and state monies in the amount of $264,017 per year for 10 years.

Other funding sources include $650,000 in a permanent low-interest loan from the Missouri Housing Development Commission and $778,173 in federal housing credits and $972,716 in state historic credits. A Community Development Block Grant for cities with population of less than 50,000 was secured for $200,000.

“We’re bringing a 24-hour presence to downtown,” Joines said. “Both the Frisco and the Drake are good examples of how community and state agencies can work together with the private sector to fill a community need and preserve the community history.”

A version of this story first ran in the Oct. 9 issue of Joplin Tri-State Business, SBJ’s sister publication.