Joplin developer, restoring downtown building

March 06, 2007 12:57 am

— By Melissa Dunson
mdunson@joplinglobe.com
Over its lifetime, the 100 block of Main Street in Joplin has fed residents as a bakery, a grocery store and several restaurants, soothed the soul as the Baptist Rescue Mission, brought color to life as Watt’s Paint store, and offered the weary traveler a place to rest as the Joplin Hotel.
Robert Rice, owner of Quartersawn Properties, saw all this history rotting away as the storefronts from 112 to 118 S. Main St. continued to sit vacant for years. He decided to save the property, restore it to its original glory and, in the process, persuade Joplin to reinvest in its downtown. Rice had been trying to buy the building for the past year. Since the sale was completed two months ago, the property has gone back in time 100 years.
Using 100-year-old brick and an original 1916 medallion from a demolished Baxter Springs, Kan., structure, Rice hopes to give Joplin residents a glimpse into Main Street’s past by restoring the building to its original look and use. Even the building’s new name, Historic Miles-Block Mall, is a throwback to its 1905 owners, J.A. and C.M. Miles, according to records at the Post Memorial Art Reference Library in Joplin.
Standing with jean shorts covered in white with plaster dust, Rice acknowledged that he’s a hands-on developer, a trait grounded in his Chicago upbringing and his love for all things vintage.
“I’m like a vintage addict,” Rice said as he showed off 1920s advertising murals and a 1915 Joplin Independence Day celebration poster that were uncovered as his crew removed the building’s interior plaster. “I love historical buildings. I grew up around these kind of buildings, so now when I go to a new building, I cringe.”
Rice said that when the project is completed in May, he wants to fill the 4,000-square-foot downstairs with retail businesses like a hair salon and chic restaurant, modern versions of the building’s past occupants. An architectural salvage business already has shown interest in the 118 S. Main St. storefront, taking advantage of the vintage brick and medallion exterior to show what salvaged materials can do for a building.
Rice also has plans for the upstairs portion, measuring nearly 7,000 square feet. In the not-so-distant past, the building’s upstairs was used as studio space by local artists. Rice wants to bring the arts back to the structure by creating what he calls the “Artists’ Attic,” serving as a studio and gallery. The art venture is essential to downtown’s revival, Rice said, because it would bring with it interesting people and businesses.
“I think that’s part of a vibrant downtown,” he said. “It brings in interesting people and money downtown.”
Jo Mueller, director of the Spiva Center for the Arts at Third Street and Wall Avenue, said she is thrilled about the prospects of bringing more artists and art lovers downtown. She said other Joplin industries are starting to see the benefit of a vibrant downtown art community, noting that the Missouri Arts Council is part of the Department of Economic Development.
“That’s a critical thing,” Mueller said. “The arts bring so much to our economy, billions of dollars to the state. We like to sell works of local artists, but when people come here to see exhibits, they also frequent the restaurants and go to movies.”
Mueller said an accessible art community also can benefit groups or companies that are trying to lure businesses and employees from larger metropolitan areas to Joplin.
“Art adds so much to the quality of life,” she said. “It helps us attract visitors, companies, tourists. People want to know what Joplin has to offer, places where their kids can take art classes.”
Rice said this is the largest and one of the few commercial projects he has undertaken, but it won’t be his last. He said he thinks he has a good grasp of how to economically and accurately restore an old building. He said he will be able to complete his project for less than $400,000.
And if nothing else, Rice said he knows his work will continue to live on well past his lifetime and the life span of most recent construction.
“Whatever else happens, we’re saving a downtown business, and that’s a good thing,” he said.
Melissa Dunson is the business writer for The Joplin Globe.


Flavor

“These buildings have flavor, and when I’m dead, that facade will still be there,” Robert Rice said, motioning to the work under way on vintage bricks on the storefront at 118 S. Main St.

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