Redevelopment of the former Ameren power plant in Jefferson City's Millbottom area is nearing completion, with its first retail tenant under contract, after several years in the works.
The building, located at 400 W. Main St. just west of the Capitol, dates back at least to the early 1900s and operated as a manufactured gas plant for Ameren - and power plant for the Missouri Power and Light Co. and Jefferson City Light, Heat and Power Company before that - until the mid-1980s.
"The Millbottom is where it all started for Jefferson City," said Ron Dawson, managing partner of the Mill Bottom, LLC, development team. "This is the last standing building."
Dawson purchased the then-unused property from Jefferson City in 2012 for $1 after three years of project planning, rezoning and other negotiations necessary for repurposing the existing structures.
Now, after disassembling and removing the boilers, pouring new floors, abating asbestos, and installing new windows, HVAC, plumbing and - soon - a new roof, Dawson and partners Dick Otke, Jason Otke and Gary Oberkrom foresee a project completion date of no later than April 2015.
"The only thing that won't be new will be the brick and the structure itself," Oberkrom said. "There's nothing that's not been touched."
The development's first retail tenant, Red Wheel Bike Shop, should be moved in by the beginning of next year.
"We're excited to have Red Wheel come over. They're going to be a great anchor for this development," Dawson said. "I think it's a perfect match."
The bicycle shop will move from its current location on West Edgewood Drive. Red Wheel offers new bikes and accessories as well as repairs and recently began bike rentals for half a day up to an entire weekend.
"We're hoping to expand the rentals. That was one of the main draws to moving," said Red Wheel owner Nick Smith. "The real draw was the Katy Trail - being closer to the trail and the pedestrian bridge, and being able to access the trail from the shop."
While the main entrance to the bike shop will be on the side of the building facing the Missouri River, the developers have cut larger windows on the other side to give Red Wheel a presence on West Main Street as well.
Dawson, while admittedly "not a preservationist," sees the building's visible historic significance as its selling point.
"We're going to keep it pretty raw and industrial," he said, noting the exposed brick walls and fresh concrete floor inside will remain as they are.
Above Red Wheel Bike Shop is a 1,500-square-foot commercial loft that will be available to rent once construction is completed. The office space will include a full bathroom, side view of the Capitol and balcony facing the Union Pacific railroad tracks and Missouri River, and will be accessible via an outdoor, second-story entrance.
Next door is the expansive, 4,700-square-foot space where the power plant's boilers once operated. Dawson has spoken on a preliminary basis with restaurateurs and microbrewery owners about the opportunity, but thinks the space could also be suitable as a concert and event venue. A mezzanine level will add another 800 square feet, and an outdoor, ground-level patio will offer additional room for entertainment. While features such as a huge arched window, exposed steel beams and overhead crane original to the power plant maintain the commercial space's industrial feel.
The developers also plan to build an elevated outdoor patio on a concrete slab next to a separate structure behind the main building - Ameren had used the building as a trolley barn, and it will now be modified for storage use. The patio will be available for public use most of the time, and reserved as VIP seating for outdoor concerts and events.
"On the 4th of July, this is the spot to be," Dawson said, looking from the future patio over the river to the skyline that features Jefferson City's annual fireworks show. He also envisions the patio and outdoor space as a convenient venue for a farmers or open-air market.
A small, 325-square-foot outbuilding near the development's entrance and next to the future Red Wheel Bike Shop offers an opportunity for a walk-up coffee or concessions vendor.
"We don't even have a "for lease' sign out yet, but we're in a position now to start bringing people through," Dawson said. "We've talked to people, but we really haven't had a lot to show. ... To this point, it has been more putting it back together than marketing it."
The developers also have added enough infrastructure that food trucks could work from the location and not have to run solely on generators.
A consideration for any interested business is the Millbottom's potential for flooding. While the larger space technically is not in a floodplain, Red Wheel Bike Shop's location is.
"While we hope it never floods, we've constructed it in a way that it would do the least amount of damage - power, HVAC and all of that would be up out of flood waters. What you see is what you get; everything is hard surfaces, so it's a matter of coming in with big hoses and cleaning it up," Dawson said. "There's no guarantee to what we're doing here. There are still a lot of risks in this project. But we like the location; we like the bones of the facility. We hope we find some folks that can make good use of it."
For Red Wheel Bike Shop, the risk might be a fair trade for the location.
"I think the benefits kind of outweigh the risks," Smith said. "It's definitely a concern. That area floods something frequently. That building itself doesn't get water in it until the water gets pretty high. If the water gets high enough to get into that building, the Katy Trail is already underwater, so I'm in trouble already with my business."
Once final renovations, such as pouring a parking lot, putting together new restrooms and overhauling the roof, are completed, the development will be ready to welcome any other interested tenants.
"Hopefully when we're all done this will be a great asset to the community," Dawson said.