Office Envy: Community Foundation of the Ozarks

Architect: Dake Wells Architecture Inc.
Designers: Dake Wells Architecture Inc. and Grooms Office Environments

While the distance was less than half a mile, the significance of a move in August for the Community Foundation of the Ozarks Inc. is what its President and CEO Winter Kinne calls a “doubling down on our commitment to downtown Springfield.”

The regional nonprofit occupies the fourth floor of its new home it purchased at 300 S. Jefferson Ave., the former Kenneth E. Meyer Alumni Center once owned by Missouri State University. It’s just the third location for the 52-year-old organization, which previously operated out of a 10,000-square-foot building at 425 E. Trafficway St. for nearly 20 years.

CFO spent nearly $5 million in renovations for the building, which was designed by Springfield architect Richard Stahl and opened as a facility for Bank of Springfield back in the mid-1970s. While concrete remains a component of the building, CFO Director of Communications Aaron Scott says architect Dake Wells Architecture fulfilled the nonprofit’s desire to soften its new fourth-floor home’s look by incorporating natural wood and lighter color palette. It also includes new furnishings throughout the space as Scott says staff was “ready for something new.”

Beyond its office spaces complete with electric standing desks, a boardroom that can accommodate 35 and a break room complete with a full kitchen, every window of CFO’s headquarters includes a bird’s-eye view of downtown that is particularly striking on a snowy day.