Vandivort plan latest among commercial renovations

The historic Vandivort Center in downtown Springfield will soon be renovated into a boutique hotel, adding the 44,000-square-foot building to a list of area commercial structures undergoing transformations.

Under the banner of MBH LLC, brothers Billy and John McQueary closed Sept. 12 on their purchase of the Vandivort for an undisclosed amount from center city property owner Scott Tillman.

“It’s something we’ve been working on for a while. Neither of us are real estate developers by trade, but we’re local guys, and we’re pretty passionate about downtown,” John McQueary said. “We started contacting some experts and had a feasibility study done. Everything’s come back positive so far, so we’ve just been kind of plugging away from there.”

Constructed in 1906 as a Masonic Temple and remodeled in 1987, the Vandivort, 305 E. Walnut St., will be renovated into a 45-room hotel that hasn’t yet been named. The brothers are working with architecture firm Bates & Associates Inc. on the redesign and have enlisted Ozark general contractor Larry Snyder & Co. for the project, with construction set to begin in early 2013.

Steady interest
According to permit data on file with the city of Springfield, the dollar volume – $151.7 million – for commercial renovations and additions through September already has surpassed the annual totals in each of the past two years.

The McQuearys’ plan is in line with what Kent Smith, vice president of Kenmar Construction Inc., has seen in recent months, with fewer businesses seeming to move to bigger facilities or build new ones. He said that trend is fueling increased interest in commercial renovations, which now comprise 65 percent of Kenmar’s volume.

His company, which posted gross remodeling revenues of $3.02 million in 2011, performs 75 percent of its business in remodeling, primarily in the commercial sector. “This summer’s been almost strictly 100 percent commercial. Through the summers, we do a lot of work with the schools,” Smith said, pointing to remodeling jobs at Missouri State University and Ozark and Springfield public schools.

Smith said commercial renovations haven’t always been dominant at Kenmar. “Probably about four years ago, I bet we had close to half our volume in residential. We had some big residential remodels going,” Smith said.

Among current renovation jobs, Smith pointed to a roughly $550,000 sanctuary remodel under way at First Baptist Church on South Avenue in downtown Springfield.

“It’s a pretty good-size remodel. They’ve been there a while, and with the economy, they’ve been sitting on money,” Smith said. “It seems like people have been sitting on money, not willing to spend it – and they finally decided to go forward with some stuff but not necessarily purchase new places.”

Smith said other Kenmar renovations include window replacements for the History Museum for Springfield-Greene County on Park Central Square, and a roughly $250,000 project installing fire sprinklers at three fire stations for the city of Springfield.

“This year’s been real strong on the commercial side, and institutional,” Smith said, also pointing to projects at Fort Leonard Wood. “Commercial came out really strong in early summer, and we’re still busy.”

Downtown lodging
The McQueary brothers have planned several on-site amenities for their boutique hotel at the Vandivort Center, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

A fitness center and meeting facilities, as well as a street-level bar, will be included, and the building comes with two parking lots comprising roughly 60 spots.

“We want it to be more than just a hotel bar. We really want it to be a destination and a place people feel comfortable coming in off the street – not just for guests. The rest of the lobby’s going to be really open floor plans, a very social space, a lot of separate seating areas,” John McQueary said, noting that renovating a historic building brings more opportunities than challenges.

Bates & Associates Vice President Jarod Michel said the renovated center will be contemporary with a modern feel designed to complement the building’s history.

“We’re going to pay very close attention to using warm color palettes and materials, very inviting materials,” Michel said. “We definitely don’t want this to be too modern of a sterile environment. ... When people come from out of town, they like to see something that’s different, something that’s unique, and they want to stay somewhere that’s more of an experience.” Michel noted that details are still being finalized for how the rooms would be laid out, though he said some would likely be multilevel with tall, open ceilings.

Billy McQueary said the Vandivort’s fourth-floor Grande Ballroom, which currently accommodates about 190 people with chairs and tables, will only undergo minor updates during the remodel, after which it will once again be available for larger events and wedding receptions.

The brothers are working with current Vandivort Center tenants, including the Springfield Contemporary Theatre, now housed in the fourth-floor Vandivort Centre Theatre, to help them relocate so renovations can begin. “We’re working with them right now to find a space to give them a little more street presence but still keep them downtown,” Billy McQueary said of the theater.