Great Southern to expand into former retail store

Great Southern Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq: GSBC) is renovating the former Other Mothers clothing and furniture resale store for an expansion of its South Glenstone Avenue operations center.

Vice President of Operations Doug Marrs said the 9,500-square-foot building, kitty-corner to Great Southern’s 218 S. Glenstone Ave. center across Cairo Street, would allow the bank to move some of its departments from the main facility, as well as 30-35 employees initially.

“We had a need for a little bit of an expansion. That was an obvious choice for us,” Marrs said of the building Great Southern purchased about a year ago for undisclosed terms from Other Mothers.

He declined to disclose how much Great Southern is investing in the renovation. Marrs said the work should wrap up early in the second quarter.

The former Other Mothers building, 322 S. Glenstone Ave., was damaged in a September 2014 fire that destroyed an attached maintenance business, according to KSPR reports.

Marrs said the Other Mothers building took much less damage, mostly harmed by exterior scorches and interior smoke.

“They weren’t shut down very long,” he said.

In December 2014, Other Mothers moved the shop to 642 E. Battlefield Road. The company also operates a store at 1430 W. Kearney St.