From the Ground Up: Plaza Towers renovation and addition

Owner: Springfield Property LLC
General contractor: Base Construction & Management LLC
Architect: Esterly, Schneider & Associates Inc.
Engineers: Miller Engineering PC, structural, and CJD Engineering LLC, mechanical, electrical and plumbing
Size: 14,500 square feet
Cost: Over $7 million
Lender: Old Missouri Bank
Estimated completion: Unknown
Project description: Here’s some news: Springfield’s busiest intersection, Sunshine Street and Glenstone Avenue, is getting a coffee shop. Marco Denis, owner of Springfield Property LLC, said it will be called Smooth Coffee, with an exterior entrance for easy access to those dropping in. In 2020, Denis purchased the 130,000-square-foot Plaza Towers building and adjoining Jimm’s Steakhouse and Pub for $13.3 million and planned nearly $7 million in renovations, but he said those costs have exceeded estimates for upgrades to the 1969 structure. Kansas City-based MTS Contracting Inc. has repaired exterior concrete, and the building shows off a fresh paint job and new LED lighted sign. Architect Tim Guillot said the third floor is being renovated to create an event space and outdoor patio area at a combined 7,300 square feet, and a renovation of the first floor to allow for a future restaurant is about 4,200 square feet with a possible 3,000 more if needed. Girders are visible on the southeast corner of the building, and Guillot says those are for a new stair tower and elevator for the third-floor event center and provide roughly 2,500 square feet of added space.