Facts about the Office Building
Just for fun, check out the slide show and virtual tour of the Law Offices. If you click the "virtual tour" tab below the photo you can look around any of a number of offices in the building. Double-click on the image and you can use the cursor to look around the room as you like. You can use the buttons in the lower left to zoom in and out too. Take the tour...just stay out of my desk! Here's the link: http://www.buildervirtualtours.com/docs/view_tour/view.php?tourid=1430. The building was originally the home of Sears and Roebuck in Olathe in the early 1950's. Before we moved in, it was a hand-crafted furniture store. Here's a story that was written about the renovation of the old building when we changed it to law offices: Kansas City Star, The (MO) Breathe new life into older buildings RITA CORTES While new construction is seen throughout metropolitan Kansas City is welcome and exciting, it is adaptive reuse of older structures that preserves our sense of history, community and culture. From Kansas City's Crossroads District to Olathe, developers of every kind are finding creative ways to bring new life to old or obsolete buildings that now serve as art galleries, office buildings, restaurants and more. The result is buildings that give our neighborhoods character and reflect the community's history while fulfilling important 21st-century commercial uses. Adaptive reuse is an excellent example of good economic practice. In many cases, it is less expensive to renovate a building than to erect an entirely new structure. Adaptive reuse, or recycling, of a building also eliminates the cost and the hazard of demolition and transporting used building materials to the landfill. Buildings adapted for new uses can foster business growth in a neighborhood and help boost tax revenues. And there are related social benefits, including increased neighborhood pride, which can contribute to a lower crime rate and a better quality of life. Throughout Kansas City's urban core, wonderful examples of adaptive reuse appear in many neighborhoods. In the popular Crossroads District, for example, there is 1600 Baltimore. This 100-year-old building originally served as a warehouse and later, more famously, as headquarters and a high-security diamond-cutting facility for Helzberg Diamonds. Today, the 36,000-square-foot building is home to the Consulate of Mexico, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Kansas City, Missouri/Mexico Business Development Office and other thriving businesses. Heading south and west into Kansas, a former tack and feed supply building at 111 South Kansas in Olathe has been transformed into a state-of-the-art office building featuring premium grade finishes. The new Law Offices of N. Trey Pettlon now resemble an elegant Victorian era law office and bring little of its original use to mind. Clients, attorneys, judges and other members of the community have praised this revitalized building. North of the Missouri River, diverse examples of adaptive reuse include Power Plant Restaurant and Brewery in Parkville, built more than a century ago as a power plant for Park college, and the UMB Bank location at North 62nd Street and Antioch Road in Gladstone, originally a convenience store. Throughout the area, revitalized buildings are helping to distinguish our neighborhoods while saving money and protecting the environment. Let's encourage developers and owners to take on more adaptive reuse projects to protect our history and provide valuable resources for tomorrow. Rita Cortes is president of Hoffman Cortes Contracting Co., an 85-year-old family owned firm that relocated to the Crossroads District after the family renovated a three-story building into loft-style office space. She lives in Kansas City. Copyright 2005 The Kansas City Star Co.
These emaculate offices are currently the home of the prestigious Law Offices of N. Trey Pettlon, Gyllenborg and Dunn, P.A. and the Law Office of Erica Schoenig. |
