JOPLIN, Mo. —
A company that has been instrumental in designing Joplin’s infrastructure after the May 22, 2011, tornado is expanding with the help of a low-interest loan from a revived state program.
Corner Greer & Associates, based at 716 S. Main Street in downtown Joplin, secured a $351,000 loan via the Missouri Linked Deposit Program through the office of Clint Zweifel, state treasurer. The program is designed to allow businesses with fewer than 99 employees the opportunity to secure funding at a much lower interest rate than normally available. Architect Doug Corner said that the loan the company took out helped refinance the cost of a new location for the firm.
“This has been in motion for about six months now,” Corner said. “Getting the loan through the Linked Deposit Program will help us continue to grow.”
Corner indicated that the company will add jobs because of the new building space. Currently, the firm has nine employees.
“That is our goal,” Corner said. “We want to keep growing and hire more.”
The Missouri Linked Deposit Program is an initiative managed by Zweifel’s office, which has secured nearly $1.1 billion in low-interest loans from 130 lenders across the state. Based on projections from Zweifel, the program is expected to affect nearly 20,000 jobs and farms throughout Missouri. The program has seen a revival since Zweifel took office in 2008.
“Everything had fallen by the wayside and it wasn’t something that a lot of businesses looked into,” Zweifel said. “We wanted to reform and retool the way that we could get money out there with this program, and we got it to pass unanimously. I wanted this to succeed because I have a profound appreciation of the power that (the loans) have to transform a community.”
That transformation happened in Joplin with Sign Designs and Anderson Engineering — both of which took advantage of the loan program. Sign Designs secured $180,000, while Anderson Engineering took advantage of $38,000 that was made available.
“Both of the companies that received the loans played a part in the recovery process,” Zweifel said. “These are the businesses that can be the key to recovery. Providing that kind of environment, by getting them the capital they need, will help them thrive.”
Even before receiving its loan, Corner Greer & Associates has had an affect on Joplin.
The firm received national acclaim for its projects that came in the wake of the devastation from the 2011 tornado. The group was responsible for designing and implementing the Joplin High School interim campus during the 2011-12 school year. Starting 11 days after the tornado hit, the firm had identified a 96,000-square-foot big-box store attached to Northpark Mall as the site for the interim campus for 11th- and 12th-graders, and had the project completed in time for the start of school in August.
For its efforts in completing the school, the firm was awarded the CEFPI James D. MacConnell Award, which recognizes a comprehensive planning process that results in educational campuses that serve the community.
Other projects
Corner Greer & Associates will also handle the new Joplin High School and Franklin Technology Center, projected to be completed in 2014. The school is expected to handle an enrollment of almost 2,500 students.
May 2011 Joplin tornado
Joplin architects to expand using state low-interest loan
- May 2011 Joplin tornado
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Banner from Joplin to be sent to Moore residents
A giant vinyl banner adorned with heartfelt messages from Joplin tornado survivors to the residents of Moore, Okla., became a centerpiece of Wednesday’s observance of the two-year anniversary of the May 22, 2011, tornado.
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SLIDESHOW: One year later, One day of unity, updated
Photos from a day of events commemorating the May 22, 2011 tornado anniversary
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Farmers Insurance teams up with Rebuild Joplin
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Joplin man continues struggle to recover two years after tornado
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Storms cause damage throughout the Four States
Four-State Area residents hunkered down twice Monday to ride out tornadoes and powerful spring storms, then went to work cleaning up. The worst damage from Monday night’s storm was being reported in Ottawa County, Okla., near Wyandotte. That followed a report of an EF-1 tornado early Monday morning near Carthage.
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Two plead guilty to post-tornado wire theft
Two defendants pleaded guilty Monday to stealing copper wire from utility poles in the wake of the May 22, 2011, tornado that struck Joplin. Timothy M. Silveria, 45, of Joplin, and Nycoa K. Kracht, 32, of Laurel, Ind., entered open pleas of guilty in Jasper County Circuit Court to felony counts of theft from a public utility.
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FACES OF RECOVERY: 176,869 volunteers help put Joplin together again
They initially came in droves, pouring into Joplin by the thousands during the months following the May 2011 tornado to clear debris, clean up damaged homes and businesses and distribute donations of food, water, clothing and other necessities.
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Therapy dogs
Any question that Louie was bred to put people as ease is put to rest when the golden retriever trots over to where a visitor sits and puts his head on their knee, the dog’s eyes filled with a gentle affection.
- More May 2011 Joplin tornado Headlines
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