From Abandoned Buildings Registry to the Golden Hammer Award, the former Missouri Power and Light power plant at 400 W. Main St. in Jefferson City's Millbottom area has transformed.
The large, brick building was built in the early 1900s for the Jefferson City Light, Heat and Power Company; it changed hands over time to the Missouri Power and Light Company, Union Electric and Ameren before closing in the mid-1980s.
"The Millbottom is where it all started for Jefferson City," said developer Ron Dawson in a Nov. 23, 2014, News Tribune article. "This is the last standing building."
The partnership of Ron Dawson, Dick Otke, Jason Otke, Gary Oberkrom and Tim Hayden as Capital Mill Bottom LLC have restored the property.
And this month, the Historic City of Jefferson recognized the re-use of an historic building with its Golden Hammer Award.
The historic preservation not-for-profit named this property because of "the beautiful restoration of the original historic portion of the building and also the wonderful addition that does not detract from the original structure," said selection committee chairman Laura Ward.
"The Historic City of Jefferson supports adaptive reuse of historic buildings and this is a wonderful example of how this can be accomplished. The adaptive reuse potential of old buildings is seemingly limitless and can be a great economic tool for the City of Jefferson."
The developers bought the property for $1 from the city in 2012. Renovations included removing boilers, pouring new floors, asbestos abatement, roof replacement and installing new windows, climate control and plumbing.
"The only thing that won't be new will be the brick and the structure itself," Oberkrom told the News Tribune in November.
Dawson added, "We're going to keep it pretty raw and industrial."
Features include exposed brick walls, concrete floor, huge arched window, exposed steel beams and an overhead crane.
Red Wheel Bike Shop relocated from its West Edgewood Drive location into the property earlier this year for closer proximity to the Katy Trail.
The 4,700-square-foot former boiler room next door has been converted into an event venue.
"Renovation of the former power plant creates possibilities for growth and development in an area that once was a hub of activity in Jefferson City," a November News Tribune editorial said. "Seeing those possibilities requires imagination; investing in them takes commitment. We admire and appreciate transforming an abandoned structure into a community asset."