BizBeat: Old space is getting a new life

After work on the outside of the building at 101 W. High St. in downtown Jefferson City, renovations will begin soon on the interior.
After work on the outside of the building at 101 W. High St. in downtown Jefferson City, renovations will begin soon on the interior.

After restoring the outside of a historic downtown Jefferson City building, Central Bank will head indoors this fall.

Construction on the 101 W. High St. building will take place from September to December and will essentially restore the inside. The improvements will make the "inside match the outside," said Jim Crabtree, Central Bank Vice President of Corporate Physical Assets and VP of Central Missouri Realty.

Plans for the structure include taking out some "improvements" made years ago that don't match the historic essence of the building.

Crabtree said the original fabric of the building is in place, but could use a little freshening up. "It looks a little tired," he noted.

The current tenants were asked to give the building owners a few months for construction and will be given the option of moving back into the space once renovations are complete.

As far as what the space will be used for, that has yet to be determined, Crabtree said. Future plans will also depend on whether the current tenants, Wilson's Fitness and the Post-Dispatch, decide to continue leasing their respective spaces.

Crabtree said the second floor will stay office spaces and the third floor, a larger open space, will receive a few minor adjustments. A dividing wall will be torn down and a drop ceiling will be removed to restore the ceiling back to its original height. The third floor has large "beautiful windows" providing a unique view of downtown.

As previously reported, Wilson's Fitness plans to move out of that space and into a location on Dunklin Street, creating an all-inclusive, yoga-only studio.

Central Missouri Realty, a division of Central Bank, has owned the High Street building since 1942. Other improvements to the building's infrastructure, including plumbing, heating and cooling, will also be made.

The building owners do plan to host an open house in the future to show off the improvements. As far as what the space will become, Crabtree said everyone should "just stay tuned."

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