Local architect pursues love of historic buildings

by Jan K. Allen

SBJ Contributing Writer

Native Springfieldian Allen Casey graduated from Greenwood High and spent his first two years of college at Drury College before finishing his higher education at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in 1973 with a degree in architecture.

Casey met his wife Mary Lou during his college days, and the couple moved to Springfield soon after graduation, where he joined his dad's architectural firm, Harold Casey and Associates, established in the early 1940s.

In the first part of 1980, Casey and his dad, who later retired, merged the firm with a Little Rock, Ark., firm. The new firm, Casey-Hill Inc., worked on many projects together before Casey was stricken with the entrepreneurial spirit and formed his own company in 1992.

Casey has always had an interest in historical structures and has done a lot of projects in Springfield's center city. Among his favorite ventures are the F. W. Olin Library at Drury College, the Discovery Center on St. Louis Street and the Sterling Hotel, which he owns and is now in the process of renovating, he said.

When Southwest Missouri State University first bought the Colonial Hotel, Casey put together a master plan for renovation of the historic facility. He was also selected to draw up a master plan for the Gillioz Theater, Central High School and the main branch of the Springfield-Greene County Library.

From the $19 million plan for Central High, some of the interior improvements have been implemented, and more will be done in the future, but complete renovation is still on hold because of lack of funding, Casey said.

The $7 million project for the library brought about some interior changes, especially to the children's area on the lower east side of the building, but the purchase and renovation of the Payless Cashways building on South Campbell superseded further work on the Main Library, according to Casey.

Casey said he is proud of the new $6 million corporate headquarters he designed for Jack Henry and Associates. The stone structure, on a wooded acreage overlooking a lake in Monett, was completed in the first quarter of 1999. Casey has designed several more office facilities for the Henrys, including buildings in Springfield and Overland Park, Kan., and in the states of Arkansas, Alabama, Connecticut and Texas.

The latest project for the company, still under construction, is a $3 million building in Angola, Ind.

"It's been a big deal for us to work with them," Casey said. "They are a great client to work with."

Besides his full-time office assistant, Ronda Sipple, Casey employs architect Katy Jenkins part-time. He almost always has a Drury intern on staff and he uses an AutoCAD draftsperson on an as-needed basis.

In keeping with his taste for historic structures, Casey's office at 619 S. Pickwick is a prime example. Built in the early part of this century, the Spanish-design stucco complex was once a combination residence and business.

The two side buildings face each other across a tiled courtyard, with the house at the center facing the street. Casey purchased the property in 1991 and renovated the two-story house. The main level houses the reception area, Casey's office and a conference room that opens out onto a large wooden deck.

The upstairs rooms are used for computer stations and design samples. Casey leases the shops in front to businesses and has renovated another, smaller building at the back of the property to rent for storage with an upstairs apartment leased as a residence.

Though work has just recently begun on the Sterling Hotel project, Casey expects to have apartments on the upper three floors, a bakery and cafe on the main level and a rathskeller in the basement ready for occupancy by June of next year.

He has amassed a collection of photos of the property, including one of the front of the building when it was occupied by its first tenant, Lawrence Sansone. Sansone leased the building as a hotel and restaurant from prominent local resident John T. Woodruff.

After Sansone gave up the lease to start another business, the hotel went through a couple of name changes before it became the Hotel Sterling in 1934.

Casey plans to make the exterior and the main level of the interior as close to the original design as he can. The only major change, aside from modernization of functional facilities, will be the addition of two penthouse suites on the roof. Covered parking has been arranged for tenants in the Bank of America parking garage, he said.

In commercial architecture, Casey said he sees a trend in office buildings being constructed with a more residential look to them. He believes that people who spend a large portion of their days at the office want the warm, homey setting.

"More businesses are setting aside space for informal thinking and planning," he said. "It's an effort to encourage groups to come together in the workplace and not feel so isolated in their individual offices."

Casey also said more firms are putting older buildings to use.

This concept played a part in his plan when he purchased the Pickwick property.

"It was important to me not to be buried on the 10th floor of some building. I wanted more atmosphere," he said.