Columbia Business Times April 2019

A BUSINESS TIMES COMPANY PUBLICATION APRIL 2019 REAL ESTATE

PROPERTY POSSIBILITIES BRIAN TOOHEY CEO, Columbia Board of Realtors PG. 30

PARKING SPACES & PLACES PG. 79

An old Ameren lot holds promise for its use in the North Village Arts District.

PG. 55

This isn’t your parents’ portfolio There are few certainties in life and in the financial markets.

In life, we are certain of death and taxes. In the financial markets, we are certain that the stock market will go up and down and that bond prices will decrease in value when interest rates go up.

More than 37 years ago, the 10-year treasury rate peaked at 15.84 percent. It then bottomed in 2016 at 1.37 percent. Today, as we sit around 2.6 percent, this long-term trend has reversed and rates have begun moving higher from their 2016 lows.

What this means, if this trend persists, is that we’ve moved from a rate-friendly to a limited-growth environment for bonds. So, what does this information mean for your portfolio?

I believe this is an opportunity to really think about and possibly reconsider your asset allocation. Most investors have been conditioned to believe that they need to buy more bonds as they near retirement because that’s what their parents did. However, because of the trend outlined above, it might not make sense to place 30 percent, 40 percent or even half of your portfolio into bonds. Alternatives exist, and I urge investors to re-think the old rule of thumb regarding bonds.

It makes sense to talk with a financial advisor and determine the best way to invest wisely given today’s market trends.

WHAT’S IN YOUR PORTFOLIO?

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide or be construed as providing specific investment advice or recommendations for any individual security. To determine which investments may be appropriate for you, consult your financial advisor prior to investing.

There is no guarantee that a diversified portfolio will enhance overall returns or outperform a non-diversified portfolio. Diversification does not protect against market risk. Securities offered through LPL Financial, member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advice offered through Good Life Advisors, LLC, a registered investment advisor. Convergence 2 APRIL 2019 Financial and Good Life Advisors, LLC are separate entities from LPL Financial.

Travis Cook

Convergence Financial 200 E. Southampton Drive, Suite 102 Columbia, MO 65203

573.818.2264 Convergence-financial.com

REASONS WHY CUSTOMERS ARE CHOOSING

SERVICE Rated #1 Servicing Dealer in the country by Pro’s Elite 100

QUALITY EQUIPMENT Offering the latest Ricoh & Sharp copier technology

INDUSTRY LEADER #1 Ricoh Dealer for Color Prduction Sales in the U.S. in 2018 Sharp Platinum Level Service Provider Ricoh RFG Circle of Excellence Certified Dealer

Copiers & Printers | Managed Print Managed Network | Advanced Technology 4210 Philips Farm Road Suite 101 Columbia, MO 65201 573.874.5600

CONGRATULATIONS ANDREA PAUL! 2018 GFI SALES MANAGER OF THE YEAR

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 3

4 APRIL 2019

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 5

6 APRIL 2019

SPONSORED CONTENT

ERICA PEFFERMAN

As I think of writing about my experiences with Evexias and the bio-identical hormone replacement pellet therapy each month, I wonder what else I can say that is new and would continue to inform you. For me, sleeping better, managing my stress and anxiety, and maintaining energy levels were always the motivating reason to commit to this path. However, the benefits of having more stamina in the gym, sharper focus, and other benefits have been wonderful! I don’t think that it’s appropriate to talk about all of those benefits in a business magazine. But I did run into friends recently who were also going to Evexias, and let me tell you, we did dish on the other treatment benefits. I’ll just say that it’s clear men and women alike benefit from a more youthful energy when going to Evexias. If you want to know more, you’ll just have to ask me in person.

For Tom and Deb it was a natural decision to enter the Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT) world at Evexias Medical Center together. “Deb had undergone some HRT in the past and the fact that numerous people have made the choice to be involved opened my mind up to it. Over the last year or two I have run into some guys who have done some HRT and they weren’t experiencing the inabilities - whether it be sex drive, fat loss, or energy, they had before. That changed my mind and outlook completely. I thought about it, which led me to the first step of getting my bloodwork done at Evexias. The next thing I know, I’m a cheerleader for this. This then led me to talk to Deb about it asking her what she thought.”

“We’ve been together since we were teenagers,” states Tom. “Then we became parents and took on all the stresses of a full lifetime together. You go through all this together and now we’re grandparents. The idea of talking about our hormones and our health is normal for us because we talk about all those things. It’s a natural conversation for us. For Deb, it’s menopause. For me it’s the aging process.”

Being on hormones already, Deb states, “I didn’t know where I was with any of my levels before coming to Evexias. When I learned all the different information from my bloodwork and discussed it with the practitioner, it started to explain why certain things were feeling off. Having someone who really understands what they can do to make it better was very interesting to me, too. I didn’t feel like I was getting that from my other doctors.”

Understanding the bloodwork is a big deal, Tom told us “For me, my sleep was the biggest thing. The amazing part is that as soon as I got my pellets, I started sleeping like a baby and it’s been that way every single night since. I’m hitting a deep REM sleep with dreams I wasn’t having for years.”

Since their first round of pellets, both Tom and Deb are noticing changes. “I have noticed a huge difference,” Deb mentions. “I’ve been sleeping so well. I feel better mentally, physically and, now that I’m also getting my thyroid taken care of, it’s helped me out a lot. I feel so much better and it’s much easier to look forward to walking, running and even yoga.”

“I’ve been hitting the gym and working out since I was in my mid-twenties and I like working out,” says Tom. “For some people I know that’s difficult for them.

They feel like they’re working out but they’re not seeing the evidence of their hard work. When I got the pellets, I continued my workouts but things changed.

There’s a fat burning that wasn’t happening before and there’s a muscle building that has come out of nowhere. I can think of men and women who are struggling to get to the gym because they don’t have the energy or they’re not seeing results. When your hormones and all levels are optimal it changes everything for the positive”.

“When you add it all up, it ends up being so much more convenient and we’ve been happy with all the results,” says Deb. Tom adds “There’s a future forecast for your health – how are you going to be able to handle these things? There’s mental health, sexual health, physical health. We want another 35 years of marriage together and, for us, this is a together thing. There’s no way we could do anything but be together on this.”

To set up appointment, contact your local Evexias Clinic 2900 Trimble Road, Suite 107 | 573.818.3067 | EvexiasMedical.com COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 7

8 APRIL 2019

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 9

14 APRIL 2019

SPONSORED CONTENT

Securing Housing for Veterans By the Numbers: Achieving Results Together 1 in 5 homeless people

in Columbia are veterans

115 expected to

serve veteran families/ individuals

$413,929 in grant funds

39 years combined

Two local not-for-profits

found a way to create efficiencies through a U.S. Veteran’s Administration, Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) grant program. Through the SSVF grant, the organizations identify and secure permanent housing for more than 100 homeless veterans in Columbia and the 18-county surrounding area.

Working together, Phoenix Programs and Welcome Home are able to take greater advantage of the SSVF grant program to target and reduce homelessness among lowincome veterans by identifying those who are at the highest risk, mainly those families who are chronically homeless or below 30 percent of the area’s median income. The program works with the local Truman VA hospital and other mid-Missouri agencies for referrals.

“Our goals for the SSVF program are first and foremost to prevent homelessness and achieve housing

stability for low-income veterans,” said Phoenix Programs Board President Greg DeLine. “And second, we want to rapidly re-house veterans experiencing crisis or a transition.”

In the past, each organization had applied for and received separate funding through the VA. Now, through the collaboration, the ability to help more veterans more quickly makes for better results for our community.

“The Phoenix and Welcome Home partnership is much more effective than either organization could be on their own,” DeLine said.

“Living in poverty is usually the root of the problem, and homelessness is a branch of that.

The SSVF grant is one way we are able to help solve that root cause,” DeLine said. “Our veterans did their jobs serving our country, and we owe it to them to do our job of supporting them when and where they need it.”

“Everyone needs a ‘hand up’ at some point in their life.

The partnership between Phoenix Programs and Welcome Home allows us to open our hands to serve these lowincome veterans in a way that gives them a foundation to build from.”

support services for veterans

If you or someone you know needs help: www.welcomeveterans.org (573) 443-8001 www.phoenixprogramsinc.org (573) 875-8880

Phoenix Programs and Welcome Home form a new partnership in serving veterans.

From Left to Right: Greg DeLine (Phoenix Programs, Board President), Teresa Goslin (Phoenix Programs, Executive Director), Terry Roberts (Welcome Home, Board President) COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 15

Don’t wait for your home to sell.

MOVE UP with

HEATH HIGGINS ABR, GRI, E-PRO, RDCPRO BEST SELLING AUTHOR | BROKER | OWNER 573-619-6308 | heath@heathhiggins.com

PriceForMyHome.com 16 APRIL 2019

“

Last summer Ron and

Svetlana made the decision they’d been dreaming about for years.

Once Svetlana sold her business in Columbia, and Ron retired, they decided to sell their home and relocate to one of their favorite vacation spots – the Canary Islands in Spain.

Curious about Heath’s “Move Up” program, Ron called and made an appointment with Carrie Spicer. She explained that if Ron listed his home with us, and we found a potential buyer who had their own home to sell, then Heath would purchase the future buyer’s home. Turns out that is exactly what happened.

Carrie had an open house and told the potential buyers about Heath’s Move UP program. Heath looked at their home and made a cash offer with a quick close, so that they could purchase Ron and Svetlana’s home with no contingencies. It was awesome!

Ron was able to focus on getting their belongings sold or ready for international shipping, while Carrie took care of the rest. The process started around May 1 and Ron and Svetlana closed on their home on September 14.

Ron considers Carrie a dear friend and trusted advisor, and is enjoying his new home near the beach. He promises to use the Heath Higgins team again if he were ever to move back to Missouri!

—Heath Higgins

EDITORIAL Emma Bentley, Editor Emma@BusinessTimesCompany.com Mary Kate Hafner, Associate Editor MaryKate@BusinessTimesCompany.com Tiffany Schmidt, Associate Editor Tiffany@BusinessTimesCompany.com

N

o matter where you work or live in Columbia, chances are that you drive by at least one construction site every day. Even during the seemingly endless winter, buildings were still going up. The real estate market kept moving, despite the labor shortage and new tariffs.

Now that spring has arrived, we’re sure to see even more construction. Mac LeMone, operations manager at Little Dixie Construction, says they’re working on quite a few projects: a new gas station, kitchen renovations at the Country Club of Missouri, and new construction projects for a couple MU Greek houses, to name a few (page 39).

With construction projects not seeming to slow ON THE COVER down despite challenges and the country being just Brian Toohey, CEO of Columbia over the 10-year mark since the housing bubble burst, Board of Realtors, graces this month’s cover. We took over we felt it was time to take the pulse of the industry in Pressed.’s outdoor rooftop patio for a this year’s Real Estate Issue. So, we spoke with Randy shot overlooking Columbia’s skyline.

Coil, owner of Coil Construction, to find out what Photography by Keith Borgmeyer. types of projects his company is working on and how his company is adjusting to recent changes, as well as Paul Land, owner of Plaza Commercial Realty, to find out what he’s seeing with commercial rental property (page 44).

Columbia’s south side has a new local coffee shop with a drive-thru. Lakota Coffee Company opened their second location, off of Green Meadows Drive, earlier this year after renovating a space that used to be a laundromat. Catch up with general manager and part owner Andrew DuCharme to learn more about what the renovation experience was like (page 50).

And can we talk about this issue’s cover photo? It was so much fun taking over Pressed.’s rooftop bar for the evening to take photos of Brian Toohey, CEO of the Columbia Board of Realtors. We wanted a space that overlooked the city to emphasize the commercial aspect of real estate. As CEO of CBOR, Toohey works with agents who oversee commercial and residential property, and we wanted that reflected in the photo. They are celebrating their 75th anniversary this year (page 30).

What are your thoughts on Columbia’s real estate industry? Email me or tweet us at @ColumbiaBiz. I truly would like to hear your thoughts.

A BUSINESS TIMES COMPANY PUBLICATION APRIL 2019

REAL ESTATE

PROPERTY POSSIBILITIES

BRIAN TOOHEY CEO, Columbia Board of Realtors

DESIGN/CREATIVE SERVICES Jordan Watts, Senior Designer Jordan@BusinessTimesCompany.com Kate Morrow, Graphic Designer Kate@BusinessTimesCompany.com Cassidy Shearrer, Graphic Designer Cassidy@BusinessTimesCompany.com Sadie Thibodeaux, Graphic Designer Sadie@BusinessTimesCompany.com MARKETING REPRESENTATIVES Deb Valvo, Marketing Consultant Deb@BusinessTimesCompany.com Bonnie Hudson, Marketing Consultant Bonnie@BusinessTimesCompany.com Susie Sapp, Marketing Consultant Susie@BusinessTimesCompany.com MANAGEMENT Erica Pefferman, President Erica@BusinessTimesCompany.com Renea Sapp, Vice President ReneaS@BusinessTimesCompany.com Amy Ferrari, Operations Manager Amy@BusinessTimesCompany.com Beth Bramstedt, Editorial Director Beth@BusinessTimesCompany.com CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Keith Borgmeyer, Anthony Jinson, Jennifer Roberts, Sadie Thibodeaux CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Kacen Bayless, Al Germond, Jodie Jackson Jr., Kermit Miller, David Morrison INTERNS Kristin Blake SUBSCRIPTIONS Subscription rate is $19.95 for 12 issues for 1 year or $34.95 for 24 issues for 2 years.

Subscribe at columbiabusinesstimes.com or by phone.

The Columbia Business Times is published every month by The Business Times Co., Copyright The Business Times Co., 2008.

All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of any editorial or graphic content without the express written permission of the publisher is prohibited.

OUR MISSION STATEMENT The Columbia Business Times and columbiabusinesstimes.com strive to be Columbia’s leading source for timely and comprehensive news coverage of the local business community. This publication is dedicated to being the most relevant and useful vehicle for the exchange of information and ideas among Columbia’s business professionals.

CONTACT The Business Times Co., 2001 Corporate Place, Suite 100 Columbia, MO 65202 (573-499-1830) • columbiabusinesstimes.com

An old Ameren lot holds promise for its use in the North Village Arts District.

PG. 55

PG. 30

PARKING

SPACES & PLACES PG. 79

Cheers,

Emma Bentley, Editor Emma@businesstimescompany.com

ColumbiaBusinessTimes.com

/ColumbiaBusinessTimes

@ColumbiaBiz

Moving or Renovating?

Starting at $75 a month! Container Sizes | 10’ 20’ 40’

Convenient, cost effective, and secure storage solutions - delivered right to you!

High-Quality Steel, Weather-Proof Containers • Commercial/Residential Use • Fast Delivery • Long-Term or Short-Term Rental

What’s most important to you?

Member SIPC

2116 Vandiver Dr., Columbia 65202 | 573.268.6533 | i70containerrentalandsales.com

I use an established process to build personalized strategies to help you reach your goals.

Setting goals is always the first step to any successful strategy. If you believe yours deserve more attention, we should talk. Call today for your consultation.

Mark Richardson ,CFP® 2415 Carter Ln Suite #104 Columbia, MO 65201 573.442.1276 mark.richardson@edwardjones.com

18 APRIL 2019

Mark Richardson, CFP® Financial Advisor

APRIL 2019 VOL. 2 5 / I SSUE 10

TA B LE OF CON T EN TS

The Real Estate Issue

44

17 FROM THE EDITOR 21 CLOSER LOOK 22 BRIEFLY IN THE NEWS 25 BUSINESS UPDATE Marathon Building Environments

28 NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT Great Circle

30 CELEBRATIONS Columbia Board of Realtors

33 MOVERS & SHAKERS 35 P.Y.S.K. Cindy Sheltmire, Re/Max Boone Realty

39 11 QUESTIONS Mac LeMone, Little Dixie Construction

41 A CAPITOL CONVERSATION Placing a Bet

43 OPINION: AL GERMOND A Windy Option

82 FYI: REALTY PROFESSIONALS 85 NEW BUSINESS LICENSES 86 DEEDS OF TRUST

Commercial Construction Changes What does the commercial construction industry look like in the wake of a labor shortage and new tariffs?

87 ECONOMIC INDEX 89 BY THE NUMBERS 90 THIS OR THAT Reza Abadi, USA Mortgage

50

55

79

Sipping on the South Side

Promise for an Empty Lot

In Focus: Where to Park

Columbia’s south side has a new local coffee shop with a drive-thru, long hours, and a patio. Once a downtown only enterprise, Lakota Coffee Company is expanding their reach.

Ameren owns empty property in the North Village Arts District, but what do they plan on doing with it?

Columbians often complain that downtown parking is a pain with not enough spaces. Is that the reality of the situation, especially for the employees who work down there?

20 APRIL 2019

BUSINE SS • P EOP L E • VOIC ES • F YI

C LOSER LOOK

Closer Look

Dunkin’ & Baskin-Robbins

DrinKraft

Iron Gate Real Estate

The north side of town welcomed the coffee-meets-ice-cream duo Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins in February. It’s the first Dunkin’ “next-generation store” in Missouri, which is designed with a more modern concept and uses innovative technology like a tap system for coffees and teas.

This location also includes a drive-thru.

The grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony was held in February. The first 100 guests received a travel mug and coupons for a free coffee if they donated money or non-perishable goods to the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri. Guests could also enter for a chance to win free coffee for one month or a year.

Founded in 1950, Dunkin’ is a market leader in the coffee industry and has earned a No. 1 ranking for customer loyalty in the coffee category by Brand Keys for 12 years running. The company has more than 12,700 restaurants in 43 countries worldwide.

Although DrinKraft is known for its kombucha, it’s no one-trick pony.

Opened in the summer of 2018, this business carries 14 flavors of kombucha and mixes those to create alcoholic and virgin cocktails. Its North Village Arts District location matched its vibe for the style of the business, experience catalyst Josh Wexler says. “As an artist, I find inspiration in interesting spaces, and we were fortunate to get the opportunity to be the first tenants in a generation to move into the old Koonse Glass building,” he says.

For guests who don’t fancy fermented drinks, they also serve tea and nitro coffee along with seasonal beverages like a hot chocolate or hot toddy. DrinKraft is also available at Stephens College but is hoping to pour into the MU scene. Their “booch” is used in cocktails at Pressed., DogMaster Distillery, and Sycamore, and Wexler hopes to expand into more local bars this year.

The start of the new year brought a change in Columbia’s real estate market. The local franchise member of Century 21 Advantage said goodbye to the franchise system and said hello to a rebranding as Iron Gate Real Estate.

“The IGRE brand provides the opportunity for the brokerage to put more profit in our community, more profit into our agents’ hands, and the opportunity to grow to be the most logical and rewarding place for agents to work,” Columbia real estate broker Freddy Spencer said in a press release.

Its rebranding meant a new location with more than 10,000 square feet of space on the south side of town near Stoney Creek Inn. This business doesn’t charge monthly office fees or minimums, company CEO Rachael Jones said in a press release. “We are the only brokerage around with the personalized tools and systems with our buyers and sellers in mind,” she said.

Location: 4380 Nocona Pkwy.

Website: drinkraft.com Contact: 573-777-5555

Location:2635 S. Providence Rd. Website: findcolumbiamohouses.com Contact: 573-777-5001

Location: 3075 Rangeline St. Website: dunkindonuts.com/en

Are you starting a new business? Reach out to our team at Editor@BusinessTimesCompany.com COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 21

BUSINE SS • P EOP L E • VOIC ES • F YI

Briefly in the News APRIL 2019

C OM M U N I T Y

MU FAMILY IMPACT CENTER HOSTS EVENT FOR HOMELESS In January, the MU Family Impact Center hosted Project Homeless Connect, an event to help those currently experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity. Project Homeless Connect helps Boone County’s homeless with housing, employment, medical screenings, mental health, veterinary care, and basic needs. In partnership with 28 agencies and 35 volunteers, this event served 162 individuals.

C OMMUNIT Y

JOB POINT AWARDED GRANT The U.S. Department of Labor awarded Job Point a $1.1 million grant for its YouthBuild program.

This grant will help 67 at-risk young adults grow in education, leadership, and construction training skills all while building new homes in the community. Two single-family homes will be built and sold to individuals or families with down payment assistance through a partnership with the City of Columbia.

"YouthBuild is an extraordinary program that allows us to offer a valid and proven solution for our community’s youth who are at risk.”

— Steven A. Smith, president of Job Point

22 APRIL 2019

BR I EFLY I N T H E N EWS

C OM M U N I T Y

SALVATION ARMY’S CHRISTMAS CAMPAIGN SURPASSES 2017 Through red kettle and online donations and mail appeals, the Salvation Army raised $398,012 over the course of the 2018 Christmas campaign. This amount beat the previous year’s total by more than $18,000. These funds will serve local Salvation Army programs, including the 24-hour emergency shelter, Harbor House, the food pantry, Pathway of Hope, and the identification program.

BUS INES S

COMMERCE BANK WINS BEST BANKS AWARD Ranking No. 17 in the nation, Commerce Bank earned recognition as a top-ranked Missouri bank on Forbes’ America’s Best Banks 2019 list. Forbes first published the list after the 2008 financial crisis and uses the S&P Global Market Intelligence to look at growth, credit quality, efficiency, and profitability and determine a bank’s rating.

BUSINESS

WINDGO GRANTED PATENT WINDGO Inc., a Columbia-based research and development company specializing in smart material and vibrational transfer technologies, announced that they’ve been granted U.S. Patent No. 10195035 for a unique joint implant system. This new patent employs WINDGO’s patented vibration damping adhesive to medical applications designed to improve long-term health and quality of life.

HEALT H

CSA SURGICAL CENTER NAMED AWARD FINALIST The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care named CSA Surgical Center, a physician-owned hospital, as a finalist for the 2018-19 Bernard A. Kershner Innovations in Quality Improvement Award. To merit award consideration, CSA reduced patient narcotic usage and time of post-operative stay and improved patient experience through study of preoperative pain medication application.

“At Commerce Bank, we hold ourselves to the highest standards for customer service, employee engagement, and community stewardship. This recognition is a reflection of the work of our Commerce Bank team as well as the thousands of loyal customers.”

— John Kemper, president and CEO of Commerce Bancshares Inc.

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 23

Uniquely Crafted

Audio Enhances Customer Experience Barred Owl Butcher & Table has a passion for skillfully crafted, responsibly sourced, made-from-scratch food and drink. They wanted an audio system to enhance their unique customer experience. Our solution is a custom-designed music system that features a professional streaming service using a 6-zone amplifier and speakers chosen specifically for their open-ceiling space. An expandable custom-programmed Elan control system lets staff touch-control everything.

24 APRIL 2019

BUSINE SS • P EOP L E • VOIC ES • F YI

BU SI N ESS U PDAT E

Furnishing Mid-Missouri Marathon Building Environments changes ownership and maintains commitment to customers.

BY EMMA BENTL EY | P HOTOG R A P HY BY A NTH O N Y J I N S O N

Frank Sovich and Patrick Marks COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 25

B USINE SS • P EOP L E • VOIC ES • F YI

Inside of Marathon's office space and showroom.

MARATHON BUILDING ENVIRONMENTS, a 32-year-old Columbia business based around commercial furnishings, changed ownership earlier this year when founder Greg Wolff retired.

Frank Sovich, who’s worked for the company for 15 years, bought Wolff out of his shares earlier this year. “I acquired Marathon — the building, the real estate, and the shares — from Greg in late January,” he says.

Wolff started Marathon in 1987 as a Xerox vendor. Over the years, the company morphed into a commercial interiors business that now includes office furniture, commercial flooring, and a window treatments division. They are also the Steelcase dealer for Mid-Missouri.

“Steelcase is the largest manufacturer of commercial furniture in the world,” Sovich says.

Their Mid-Missouri coverage includes 40 counties reaching from the Iowa border all the way down to Rolla. With that much coverage area, it takes a village to keep the company running smoothly and efficiently.

Sovich relies on his 25 employees and Patrick Marks, vice president and partner in the business, to help.

26 APRIL 2019

THE LEADERSHIP DUO Sovich joined Marathon as a partner in August 2004 after a chance conversation with Wolff.

Marathon had just moved into what is now their current office on Paris Road when Sovich came on board. “At that point, our furniture department was established and expanding, and the flooring division was growing at a fast pace,” he says. “Currently, the furniture division represents about 50 percent of our business and the other two divisions, commercial flooring and window treatments and awnings, are about 25 percent each.”

When asked about his day-to-day work, Sovich says it probably doesn’t look too different from any other business owner’s. “I’m just like anybody else. I have clients to take care of and I oversee the furniture and design divisions as well as managing the overall functions of the company as a whole,” he says.

Marks started with Marathon in 2015 as a consultant. “I was asked to help organize and streamline their inventory management procedures and to assist with the implementation of a new order management software system,” he says.

In November 2016, Marks was asked to join the team full-time in the interim operations manager role. Once that role was filled, he was asked to become the interim chief financial officer. “In September of 2017, I was offered ownership in Marathon and I accepted. I am currently the vice president and general manager,” he says. “I see great potential in the future of Marathon. All of our divisions have been growing and continue to grow.”

Sovich readily offers up praise of Marks and his role in the company. “I have told him numerous times, privately and publicly, that I am just glad he is a part of the team,” he says.

THE TARIFF EFFECT Due to new tariffs, costs of certain materials have increased. Sovich has seen the effects of this from some vendors that rely on parts from China, but so far, the consequences have been minimal. The reason is twofold.

First, most of the Steelcase furnishings are manufactured in North America, so the tariffs only affect parts Steelcase orders from overseas, Sovich explains.

BU SI N ESS U PDAT E

Second, he says that increases from their major vendors is normal. “In our industry, it’s nothing to see an annual increase.

Last year, Steelcase had two because of the anticipated tariffs,” he says. “We’ve seen increases from certain vendors, but there have been some that we haven’t seen at all.”

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE On average, Marathon brings in $8 million to $9 million in revenue each year, but Sovich would like to see that number increase to over $10 million. He plans on doing that by keeping his clients happy.

“My goal year in and year out is simply to keep our team gainfully employed. And that’s what we do. We set out to keep our clients, internal and external, happy with our products and completely satisfied with our service,” he says.

Sovich is focused just as much on bringing in new business as they are on keeping their current clients. “We want new business just as much as the annuity business,” he says.

“That’s the way you grow, by getting the new business and keeping the old.”

Sovich says that, on average, people will spend a third of their lifetime at work, so Marathon provides a work environment with a comfortable, creative space to be productive and still enjoy the workplace. Marathon works with its clients to achieve the same goal.

Marathon recently worked with a new client, American Outdoor Brands, to help furnish their new facility on the east side of town.

“We worked with the designer out of Dallas. We did all of the flooring. We did all the window treatments. We helped with the design. We did all of the furniture. We were the only vendor in that location from a commercial furnishings standpoint,” Sovich says. “It was a huge project for us.”

One of Marathon’s current projects is the new Little Dixie Construction business office, off of Stadium Boulevard, which Marathon is furnishing. Marathon has also worked with MU and Shelter Insurance over the years as well as general contractors in the area, such as Coil Construction, Professional Contractors & Engineers, Grove Construction, and Randy Adams Construction.

Sovich also points out that many of the awnings people see above downtown storefronts are the work of Marathon.

Awnings are a part of the Pioneer Window Works division that they acquired about nine years ago. “Pioneer Window Works was a 60-year-old company based here in Columbia that we purchased from the owner, Larry Schuster,” says Sovich. “He’s still a valued team member.” CBT

Marathon Building Environments 1715 Paris Rd. 573-875-7115 marathonbe.com

The Pioneer Window Works showroom.

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 27

B USINE SS • P EO P L E • VOIC ES • F YI

A Circle of Help and Hope Great Circle is a Missouri nonprofit with a centuries-old history and a comprehensive goal.

BY K RISTIN BLA KE | P HOTOG R A P HY BY JEN N I F E R R O B E RTS

The Ash family

FOR AUBREY ASH, what started as a desire to foster children with the hope of one day adopting turned into six adoptions over the course of 12 years.

She and her husband, Tony, adopted their first child internationally, but the high costs led them to consider fostering children locally. They looked to Great Circle, a Missouri behavioral health nonprofit, to foster and eventually adopt three of their children.

Great Circle provided the Ash family with caseworkers throughout the fostering and adoption process. “We knew we wanted to adopt but wanted to foster until we found 28 APRIL 2019

the right child,” Ash said. And they adopted all of them — all were a good fit.

ALL-AROUND CARE ACROSS THE STATE In addition to foster care and adoption, Great Circle’s services include intensive outpatient care as well as counseling, education, camps, and services for children on the autism spectrum. “It’s a complicated array of programs and services because, as human beings, we’re pretty complicated,” says John Money, Great Circle’s chief of staff.

Eligibility for their services extends to anyone struggling with behavioral or mental health challenges, and their goal is to be the first step, not the last, Money says. “We want to take the approach to be proactive and have families say, ‘Hey, I need help — my child is struggling with drugs or with suicidal thoughts’ or with whatever the challenges are that they’re struggling with,” says Money.

Great Circle has an office in Columbia in addition to a smattering of locations across the state and employs more than 600 individuals.

In 2018, Great Circle’s services reached almost 40,000 children and families in Missouri.

N ON PR OFI T

Great Circle FOUNDED IN: 2009

CORE VALUES Compassion: We build loving, caring, and nurturing relationships.

Diversity: We respect and embrace differences in people.

Fun: We have a culture that encourages play, creativity, and joy.

Integrity: We do what we say.

Mission-Focused: We make all decisions in the best interest of those we serve.

Professional Excellence: We are accountable for high standards and best practices.

Stewardship: We take care of our human and natural resources and provide strong oversight of our finances.

Transparency: We are open and candid through our internal and external communications.

CENTURIES-OLD ROOTS With over 180 years of service underneath their belt, Great Circle isn’t new, but they’ve evolved over the years.

Their roots trace back to 1832 and the St. Louis Orphans’ Asylum, where they provided relief for orphans impacted by the cholera epidemic. The following centuries saw more evolutions and additions until Great Circle, as it is known today, was officially established in 2009.

Their broad scope is one thing board member Randy Boehm appreciates about the organization. “Because Great Circle is involved across the state, they can look at the state’s needs as a whole and readjust services as needed,” he says.

In 2017, Boehm started serving on the Great Circle board of directors.

His 32 years with the Columbia Police Department, including his years as police chief, gave him a peek into the needs of the community. “I’d dealt with a lot of child abuse and neglect, and we just didn’t have the resources in the community to help them,” Boehm says. “Great Circle filled a void in the community for these kids.”

One of these voids is educational needs. He says most schools do the best they can, but that’s not always enough. “When you have kids who are just too disruptive to be in that [traditional school] setting, they usually just get suspended, and that helps no one,” Boehm says. “But Great Circle has an educational system to help those kids.”

INDIVIDUALIZED CARE Great Circle’s services may be expansive, but their treatment and care are individualized. One method Great Circle has adopted is neurosequential treatment, which analyzes the relationship between trauma and the brain. Money explains that the brain develops differently based on the trauma the person has experienced, and that development can cause individuals to respond to treatments in different ways.

“They may not respond to a verbal therapy session,” he says. “They may need some experiential interaction where they’re doing a ropes course or a swing or physical motor skills or connection with an animal. Whatever that may be, we’re mapping that out using the science of neurosequential model.”

Ash also understands the effects of trauma, especially when it comes to parenting styles. She says the trauma her children have experienced has changed them internally more than one would think.

Even though most of her kids have experienced estrangement from biological parents, each child handles it differently. “The hardest thing is learning how the trauma affects the child and how to adjust parenting,” Ash says.

“You just can’t parent the same way when these kids come from trauma.”

One pillar of parenting for Ash is structure, as she wants her children to be able to take care of themselves when they leave her house one day. For the kids 8 and older, they make their own breakfasts, lunches, and beds.

“My theory is that their lives have been chaotic, so they will do well with a list of routines,” she says, adding that they excel in the structure. “The love and stability that you pour into them will never leave them.”

And although the path isn’t easy, Money sees these kids and families as courageous and resilient. “Let’s get you the support you need and try to give you the tools you need to make your life better, and it’s OK to talk about it,” he says. “We try to provide some redemptive services for them so they can have a better life. For me personally, I like to think that whatever I can do for this organization every day is helping humanity in some way.

That’s what keeps me here.” CBT

Great Circle 4304 S. Bearfield Rd. 844-424-3577 Greatcircle.org COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 29

Brian Toohey, Chris Martin, Pam Socha

1944

1967

2013

A board of directors charters the Columbia Real Estate Board.

The board of directors approves a name change to Columbia Real Estate Board of Realtors.

The board implements an electronic transaction management system.

30 APRIL 2019

BUSINE SS • P EO P L E • VOIC ES • F YI

C ELEBRAT I ON S

Back to the Future The Columbia Board of Realtors celebrates 75 years.

BY BETH BRA MSTEDT | P HOTOG R A P HY BY SA D I E TH I B O D E AUX

THE COLUMBIA BOARD OF REALTORS was founded in 1944 and strives to be the voice of real estate in Mid-Missouri. The board is one of 33 in the state, and its membership includes more than 600 local real estate agents.

The goal of the board is to provide valuable professional development opportunities for its members, uphold the highest ethical standards in the industry, strengthen the Realtor image through community involvement, promote real property ownership, and advocate for private property rights.

“We’re really here to serve the public,” says Pam Socha, 2019 CBOR President.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE Brian Toohey was named CEO of the board in 2014, and according to president-elect Chris Martin, he and his staff have led CBOR into the future, especially as it relates to enhancing their programs and services through technology.

In the last five to six years, CBOR has implemented an electronic transactions management system, electronic signature service, an electronic appointment management system, and electronic lockboxes.

This technology has sped up the process of buying, leasing, selling, and renting property for everyone involved.

“Electronic transaction management allows listing and sale contracts to be signed electronically and agents to go paperless,” Toohey says.

“Scheduling showings electronically eliminates phone calls to confirm property showings and replaces those confirmations with automatic emails and a mobile app.”

CBOR also offers its members an optional, secure electronic key and keybox system. Use

of this technology ensures a secure process for showing property, one where a seller and listing agent can verify exactly who has accessed the property and when.

“Even the switch to cell phones is relatively new,” Toohey adds. “The industry just continues to evolve.”

LOOKING BACK While there might not be anyone alive who was part of the Columbia Board of Realtors in 1944, there are many veterans willing to share about life as a member of CBOR in earlier days.

Richard Mendenhall, a fifth-generation real estate agent and member since 1974, remembers doing business before there was one multiple listing service, a database of home listings that’s vital to an agent’s work. “At one time, this board had three MLSs,” he shares. “Apparently, the large brokers started an MLS and then the small brokers got mad and they formed one. And then, for a compromise, the board had one. Ultimately, we all got together and did the board MLS.” Sissy Christian, a member since 1983, remembers searching for listings out of books. “We didn’t have the internet, of course,” she says.

“MLS database technology has advanced significantly over the years,” Toohey explains.

“Previously, members of the MLS would conduct business utilizing printed MLS books rather than a web-based MLS database. Timely and relevant listing information, such as a price change, would only become public knowledge as quickly as a new MLS book was printed. Today, CBOR members access the MLS system online, where listing updates are recorded every 15 minutes.”

Toohey’s goal this spring is to launch a public-facing website where customers can

have even quicker access to the most accurate MLS data available.

MAINTAINING FOCUS While Toohey and his team may wonder what changes future technology will bring, the organization’s 2018-2020 strategic plan outlines four areas of emphasis, including advocacy and consumer outreach.

These initiatives involve hosting monthly education classes that focus on relevant topics like finance, title insurance, and flood plain information. Last year, CBOR teamed up with the City of Columbia to offer a seminar in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act. The Board also follows the activities of the local government. Members are often vocal at city council, planning and zoning, and county commission meetings, and the group supports ballot initiatives and candidates who they say understand property rights, fair housing, and equitable infrastructure funding.

CBOR created an ongoing public campaign in 2018 called “Realtor Love.” They highlight the philanthropic and charitable activities of their members by sharing their stories on Facebook using the hashtag #REALTORLOVE. Martin believes that his fellow Realtors are some of the most compassionate people he knows. “They care about public safety and giving back,” he says. “Real estate is a 24/7 job.

It’s not about the commission — you have to love what you do.” CBT

Columbia Board of Realtors 2309 Interstate 70 Dr. NW 573-446-2400 cbormls.com

2016

2016

2019

The Columbia Board of Realtors adds an electronic signature service.

The board begins using an electronic appointment management system.

The board will launch a new public-facing website for accessing MLS data.

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 31

WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT Save time and take back your day with

Timekeeping Simplified

Your financial plan should reflect this and we believe it all starts with developing a deep understanding of your needs.

Reduce overtime expenses Manage employee schedules Stay compliant with the Department of Labor

COLUMBIA

E DP

EXPERT. DEPENDABLE. PROFESSIONAL.

Your financial goals, aspirations and investment needs are just that — yours.

Call now to schedule your personalized demo

573.474.8431

We strive to offer the personalized attention and the highest level of service based on your goals, your time frame and your tolerance for risk.

Because building portfolios isn’t the most important thing we do. Building relationships is.

Call today for your confidential consultation.

573-442-6146 We are so honored to be the recipient of CBT’s 2019

Women of Excellence

for Excellence in Retail!

Business Planning Education Planning Investment Solutions Portfolio Management Retirement Planning Cash Management and Borrowing Estate, Trust, and Charitable Giving

MY SISTER’S CIRCUS We believe we should all shop local for the experience and for the greater good of our community whenever possible.

573-443-5618 • 1110 E. Broadway, Columbia Independent Distributor of LipSense

32 APRIL 2019

302 Campusview Drive, Suite 212 Columbia, MO

(573) 442-6146

Greg Brockmeier Financial Advisor

Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., member FINRA/ SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Raymond James Financial Services. Advisors, Inc. Brockmeier Financial Services, LLC is not a registered broker/ dealer and is independent of Raymond James Financial Services.

B U SINESS • PEOP LE • VOIC ES • F YI

M OVER S & SH AKER S

Movers & Shakers APRIL 2019 MUSTARD

Columbia Public Schools Foundation CPSF has announced their 2019 board of directors: Cindy MUSTARD, president; Abe Bahadori, president-elect; Sally Silvers, secretary; Tom Rose, treasurer; and Lynn Barnett, past president. A graduate of MU, Mustard co-owns Tiger Trolley Tours and was the executive director of the Voluntary Action Center. She will serve as the CPSF president for two years. “I am proud to serve as president of CPSF to work to ensure that today’s students continue to receive the very best educational opportunities,” she said in a press release.

Michael Lyman, PhD After 30 years at Columbia College, Michael Lyman will retire in April.

He worked as a professor of criminal justice and faculty marshal and established the college’s master of science in criminal justice program and its bachelor’s degree in forensic science. He is the author of eight books regarding policing and organized crime. He will share his last day at Columbia College with his daughter, who will be graduating.

Columbia Metro Rotary

Craig Meyer, who will serve as

Lohmann studied journalism and

president-elect; Shane Winter,

women’s and gender studies, and

who will serve as returning

most recently, she held the title of

secretary; and Laura Kogut, who

senior strategic communications

will serve as returning treasurer.

associate at the State Historical

Rob Bartel, Les Borgmeyer,

Society of Missouri.

Victoria Brees, and Craig Meyer returned as members of the board of directors and will be joined by new members Mandy Schick and Anna Drake.

Blake Monson Kit Stolen, president and CEO of Providence Bank, announced the promotion of Blake Monson to Home Mortgage Disclosure Act officer at the bank. This new role includes quality assurance review for HMDA-reportable transactions, support on deposit operation compliance issues, and oversight of vendor management and annual review process. Monson graduated from MU and started working at Providence Bank as a teller in 2013.

Providence Bank is an FDIC member

LYMAN

The Boone County Historical Society has also elected new directors to its board: Lisa Heffernan WEIL, history and

MONSON

psychology instructor at Columbia Independent School; Karen M. MILLER, retired Boone County commissioner; Andy WATERS, commercial real estate investor and former president of the

WEIL

Columbia Daily Tribune; Karen Moore, retired educator in Hallsville public schools; and Suzanne ROTHWELL, executive director in the Columbia College advancement division.

MILLER

Fran Patrick The Business Times Company is proud to announce that Fran

and equal housing lender.

Patrick came on board as a partner

Boone County Historical Society

has been with TBTC since 2016

WATERS

in the business in March. Patrick and currently serves as the director

Mary Ellen Lohmann has been

of account services for Columbia

hired as the administrative services

Marketing Group, of which TBTC

manager for the Boone County

is the parent company. In her role,

Historical Society, where she

she leads CMG alongside Erica

Cathy Scroggs has been elected

will handle membership, donor

Pefferman, president of TBTC,

as Metro Rotary’s 28th president

relations, and special events as

grows its book of business, casts

and will begin her term in July.

well as oversee revenue streams

vision for future endeavors, and

Other rotary officers include

and marketing. A graduate of MU,

works with client relations. CBT

ROTHWELL

PATRICK

Are you or your employees moving up in the Columbia business community? Send us your news at Editor@BusinessTimesCompany.com COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 33

WE CREATE SPACES THAT WORK

We’re experts at exploring your objectives, culture and industry to optimize your work environment.

Workspace Consulting

Planning & Design

Office Furnishings

Project Management

Visit our showroom or contact us to learn more about our services.

100 East Texas Avenue, Columbia

BE SOCIAL.

573-234-0778

InsidetheLines.net

columbiabusinesstimes.com

/ColumbiaBusinessTimes

@ColumbiaBiz

Business people, places & things you need to know.

34 APRIL 2019

@ColumbiaBiz

B U SINESS • PEOP LE • VOIC ES • F YI

P E R S ON YOU SH OU LD KN OW

CINDY SHELTMIRE BROKE R -SA L ES PER S ON | R E / MA X B O ON E R E ALT Y Age: Must this be divulged?

Job description: Realtor.

Years lived in Columbia: 39 years.

Original hometown: St. Louis, Missouri.

Education: Lindenwood College.

Favorite volunteer/community activity: The Rotary Club of Columbia, Chamber of Commerce Ambassador, and the True/False Film Fest, among others.

Professional background: I’ve been a Realtor for 35 years in Columbia.

A favorite recent project: Interviewing Shroud of Turin experts from around the world for an upcoming documentary.

A Columbia businessperson I admire and why: There are so many! One of the things I love the most about Columbia is that everyone strives to make it a better place.

But, if I had to choose, Michele Spry and Cindy Mustard pop into mind because of their great philanthropy. David Wilson and Paul Sturtz also come to mind because they put Columbia on the world map by founding the True/False Film Fest.

Why I’m passionate about my job: It’s very rewarding to help people with the biggest purchase of their lives, and it’s especially rewarding when I run into my clients later and hear them say, “I love my home!” That is music to my ears.

Why I’m passionate about my company: The philosophy of every staff member at Re/Max Boone Realty is, “How

Photography by Sadie Thibodeaux

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 35

B U SINESS • PEOP LE • VOIC ES • F YI

P E R S ON YO U SH OU LD KN OW

can I help you do your job better?” The staff members are all tremendously helpful and giving. The agents are also so supportive of one another.

If I weren’t doing this for a living, I would: Possibly be a proofreader or an editor because I do frequent proofreading of other authors’ books in my spare time.

What people should know about being a Realtor: I have been a Realtor for 35 years. When I started in 1984, we did not have cell phones, fax machines, or listings on the internet. The industry is never stagnant, and it is incumbent upon the Realtor to keep up with its constant evolution. A Realtor is also on call 24/7!

The next challenge facing the real estate industry: There are constant challenges. Every interest rate hike affects the industry, as do changes in laws and loan criteria. No two years are ever alike. We must always be willing to learn, adjust, and change with the times.

My next professional goal: I have been fortunate to have received much professional recognition, such as being awarded RealtorSalesperson of the Year from both the Columbia Board of Realtors and the Missouri Association of Realtors. But my true focus has always been to give the best possible service to my clients.

Biggest lesson learned in business: Always try to give more than is expected!

How I want to impact the Columbia community: During the 39 years I’ve lived here, I have become deeply involved in the community. I have served at Ragtag Cinema and True/False Film Fest, the Tiger Quarterback Club, the Columbia Chamber of Commerce, Mizzou Ambassadors, Columbia Downtown Rotary, Welcome Home, the Missouri Film Commission, and many other organizations. I hope I’ve made a positive difference in the community I love.

Greatest strength: As a Realtor, my gift is being able to match buyers with the right house. I have often walked into a home and known immediately that it was the right fit 36 APRIL 2019

for a certain buyer. Usually, I only need to go around town with the buyers one time to get a very good feel for the type of home that they envision and that will meet their needs.

Greatest weakness: I wish I had the gift of remembering names. I can recall faces, the details of transactions, and even birthdays, but I have a hard time with names.

What I do for fun: I enjoy watching movies, listening to music, reading, sports, and traveling. I have four grandchildren and am “all-in” as a grandmother, holding annual Easter egg hunts and trick-or-treating on Halloween.

(I have a new, surprise costume each year. This past year I was Mary Poppins, and the year before that I was a giant blow-up poop emoji).

I also do it up big at Christmas. Spending time with my grandkids gives me great joy.

Family: I’m married to my husband, Steve.

I have two grown children, Jon and Amy.

Their spouses are Shannon and Bob. I have four grandchildren: Jacqui, Macy, Nolan, and Presley. I also have a goddaughter, Sophie Mashburn, and a wonderful extended family and friends who feel like family. I am blessed.

Favorite place in Columbia: I love the Missouri Theatre. It has been so exquisitely renovated! And Ragtag Cinema for its comfortable, artsy vibe.

Accomplishment I’m most proud of: I’m very proud of my kids. My son, Jon, works at Zimmer Radio as a creative. He is one of the most talented people I know both artistically and musically. My daughter, Amy, has a very successful career in human resources. I’m very proud of both of their accomplishments. They are also great parents.

Most people don’t know that I: love word games: Scrabble, Words with Friends, Boggle.

Feel free to challenge me to a game! CBT

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 37

FOR AN AMAZING BRUNCH EXPERIENCE TAKE IT TO THE TOP.

Lucky you. The Roof is open for weekend brunches.

The best view in town is perfectly paired with the best brunch menu.

1111 E. Broadway | Columbia, MO| (573) 875-7000 | The BroadwayColumbia.com

“

Taking a “roll up my sleeves” approach, whether it be helping a client on a new business venture, dealing with fallout from fractions among business owners, or enforcing my clients’ rights in a courtroom, I always aim toward financial efficiency for my client.”

PRACTICE AREAS • Business and Business Owner Representation • Partner Disputes

- TIM GERDING

• Contracts • Civil Trial Practice

l.l.c.

EVANS & DIXON at torne ys at l aw 501 Cherry St., Suite 200 - Columbia, MO 65201

• Mergers & Acquisitions • LLC Formation

(573) 777-8823

The choice of an attorney is an important decision and should not be based solely on advertisements.

38 APRIL 2019

• Business Sale & Purchase

evans-dixon.com

B U SINESS • PEOP LE • VOIC ES • F YI

1 1 QU EST I ON S

meeting one morning every week to go over all current projects and upcoming projects so that we can plan accordingly.

3. What does a typical day look like?

I love my job because there is not a typical day. I can help wherever help is needed the most that given day. I get to be on a new job site every week and work with all of our employees and subcontractors. I still have days where I need to be in the office, but most of my days are spent in the field.

Q&A MAC LEMONE Operations Manager, Little Dixie Construction

4. What drew you to your position?

I started working for Little Dixie as a project manager and was running jobs from the office, but I found it very hard to leave the job site after a progress meeting! I really enjoyed being on the job site and putting in the work in the field, so I started spending more and more time out of the office.

5. What projects is Little Dixie working on in 2019? Multiple projects for Veteran’s United, Taco Bell, a new MFA Oil Break Time gas station, and a River Regions Credit Union. There are also projects for Gamma Phi Beta, Phi Kappa Psi, City of Columbia Fire Station No. 6, wealth management offices, and the Country Club of Missouri kitchen and pool kitchen remodels. We are also building a new corporate office building for Cameron Dunafon, of DVERSE Holdings, and ourselves, Little Dixie Construction.

“I get to work with everyone in the construction field to make sure they have the man power and the tools they need in order to complete their job in the most efficient way possible.”

8. What are some challenges you face in your job? With the rising costs of material and labor, it’s getting harder and harder to make a project make sense economically. Whether we’re working on numbers for a project for ourselves or for our customers, it’s becoming a challenge to justify new construction with current market rents.

1. What’s your professional background? After graduating from MU with a dual major in finance and real estate, I went to work for Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis.

At Anheuser-Busch, I worked for the special event team and traveled across the country promoting their products at major events.

In 2006, I decided that it was time to come back home to Columbia and started working for Jay Burchfield at Wilgate Development, where I focused on projects across the state and was exposed to all aspects of the business, from real estate development to property management. After my dad was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma in late 2007, I started working for Little Dixie Construction.

6. What would people be surprised to know about your job? I think it would be surprising to know how much technology is involved with job sites. We now have trackers on every piece of construction equipment and can customize reports on utilization, maintenance, and really anything you could want to see.

10. What inspires you to get up each day and make a difference? My dad inspires me every day. I made a promise to him that we would take care of Little Dixie Construction and his employees, and that makes it easy for us all to continue in the way that would make him proud.

2. Tell us about your job: I get to work with everyone in the construction field and make sure they have the man power and the tools to get and do what they need in order to complete their job in the most efficient way possible. We have a project management

7. Did you start your career in the construction industry? Yes, my first job was working in Mid-City Lumber’s door shop and building pre-hung doors. After that, I worked out of Laborers Local 955, a training center, during the summers through college.

11. Tell us something about you that we wouldn’t learn from your resume: I love the outdoors, exploring new places, and doing activities like hunting, fishing, hiking, skiing, rafting, boating, camping, scuba diving, etc. CBT

9. Describe a success you’re most proud of: I would say the biggest success was getting through the Great Recession of 2008. Little Dixie Construction is very proud to say that we were able to keep all of our employees working through that period.

Check out more questions and answers from other Columbia professionals online at ColumbiaBusinessTimes.com.

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 39

• Top 50 Private Practice Facilities in America since 2012 • Sparkling pool and fitness center • Tennis courts • Pickleball courses • Full service tennis shop • Event spaces available • World-class dining and meeting facilities • Very affordable monthly dues • No minimums & no assessments

SPRING GOLF MEMBERSHIP PROMOTION AVAILABLE NOW! To request more information or to schedule a tour, contact Chad McMinn at 573-442-5280 x5000 or chad@oldHawthorne.com The Club at Old Hawthorne | 6221 E. Broadway, Columbia, MO | 573-442-5280

Whether you are in one of life's transitions, new to investing, or preparing for retirement, I am here to help you achieve your financial goals.

EdwardJones.com Member SIPC

Let's start with a conversation.

Contact me today and lets get started on your financial future

Kathy Lou Neale Financial Advisor 40 APRIL 2019

573-442-9590 | Woodrail Centre | Columbia |

BU SI N ESS • PEO P LE • VOIC ES • F YI

A CA P I TO L CON VER SAT I ON

Placing a Bet on Sports Wagering

BY KRCG 13’ S K ER M I T M IL L ER

DID YOU MAKE A BET WITH A FRIEND on the outcome of this year’s Super Bowl game or the NCAA basketball tournament? Is there an office pool at your work? Every year, tens of millions of Americans wager on the outcome of sporting events and do so without giving a second thought to the illegality of their actions.

The American Gaming Association estimates as many as 23 million Americans wagered as much as $6 billion dollars on the NFL championship game between the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams in February. The estimate for the 2018 NCAA basketball tournament had $10 billion circulating, maybe 3 percent of which was bet legally through the only place someone could do that at the time: Nevada.

The game changed last May when the U.S. Supreme Court, by a 6-3 vote, struck down the federal prohibition on sports gambling everywhere but the Silver State (which was grandfathered in). By the end of 2018, eight states had sports wagering on the books, with some two dozen others, including Missouri, taking a look in 2019.

It’s not a new idea for the Show-Me State. A year ago, even before the SCOTUS ruling, several state lawmakers offered bills to legalize sports wagering. Three House bills received committee public hearings, but that was as far as it went.

So, this year, sports wagering is back, and the spotlight is brighter than ever. The first legislation out of the gate is Senate Bill 44, sponsored by Warrensburg Republican Denny Hoskins. He has tinkered with the language, which now includes an authorization of video lottery terminals.

SB44 would restrict sports wagering to bets placed on casino boats already licensed in Missouri. Wagering could be done in per-

son or through the internet. However, only people physically located in the state could bet online.

In the past, the NCAA and the major professional sports leagues have fought against an expansion of legalized sports wagering.

The NCAA prohibits sports betting by student–athletes or school employees, including coaches, and the organization fought hard against New Jersey’s challenge to the federal prohibition. The governing body sees gambling as a serious threat to student–athletes, who can become targets for corruption.

In a news release last July, the NCAA announced it had launched a study of the long-term impact of betting on college sports, even as some universities began to look at the money-generating potential of wagering. SB44 would allow a sports governing body such as the NCAA to notify the Missouri Gaming Commission of a desire to restrict, limit, or exclude wagering on its sporting events.

The lure, of course, is the money. The AGA claims sports betting would add more than 4,700 jobs in Missouri, and would generate more than $63 million in annual tax revenue for state and local governments. Hoskins’ bill begins with an annual administrative fee charged to the casinos of 2.5 percent of the adjusted gross receipts of all sports wagers.

At least 80 percent of that money would go to the fund that builds and maintains veterans’ facilities in Missouri. An additional fee of 0.5 percent would go into the Entertainment Facilities Infrastructure Fund, which would be created by the law. That money would support the maintenance of convention centers, sports and entertainment venues, museums, and even parking structures.

Finally, the legislation taxes the gross betting revenue at a rate of 12 percent. A pair of pending house bills would set the rate at 6.25

percent. Small town newspaper publishers put the tax question to Governor Mike Parson during a luncheon on January 31 at the Governor’s Mansion. Parson indicated he was not prepared to crunch numbers or discuss specifics until lawmakers reach an agreement. However, he suggested sports wagering was an idea whose time had come.

Past legislation has included something called an “integrity fee.” This is money returned to the governing body for the sports teams targeted with bets and could be used to monitor “game fixing,” tampering intended to control the outcome for wagering returns.

Both the Kansas City Royals and the St. Louis Cardinals endorsed integrity fees during last year’s debate. The Missouri Gaming Association has opposed integrity fees in the past.

SB44 does not currently authorize such a fee.

Hoskins says wagering could be worth between $12 million and $40 million in additional revenue to the state, which would go to education. There is competition for that money from Missouri’s neighbors. In November, Arkansas voters approved a four-county trial project for sports betting. Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Iowa all have bills pending or have debated the issue in the past.

Hoskins recognizes the concerns expressed by wagering opponents, but says it’s time Missouri got something out of a behavior that already occurs and shows evidence of growth.

“There’s a lot of people that are already betting on their phone in Sportsbook,” Hoskins says, referring to a popular betting app. “That is currently illegal in the state of Missouri.” CBT Kermit is an award-winning 45-year veteran journalist and one of the longest serving members of the Missouri Statehouse press corps.

Kermit Miller anchors the 6 and 10 p.m. news for KRCG 13. You can reach Kermit at kmiller@krcg.com COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 41

AF COMO'S 5K-9 RUN/WALK

K9 CARNIVAL WILL START AT 9:00AM WITH BOUNCY HOUSES, GAMES AND ACTIVITIES, RAFFLES, VENDOR BOOTHS, ANIMAL PET AREAS FOR FAMILY AND FRIENDS, AND SO MUCH MORE!

8:00AM-1:00PM

(RUN STARTS AT 8:30AM)

JUNE 08, 2019 SATURDAY

ANYTIME FITNESS WEST BROADWAY (1729 WEST BROADWAY)

EARLY BIRD SPECIAL

15

GENERAL REGISTRATION

30

DAY OF REGISTRATION

35

(THROUGH APRIL 30TH)

(AFTER APRIL)

(JUNE 08)

per person per person

per person

SUMMER IS COMING!

Register your family and friends for our K9 Carnival and 5K. A portion of our event proceeds will be benefiting local animal rescue and adoption organizations.

TO REGISTER GO TO: WWW.ANYTIMEFITNESSCOMO.COM/5KSIGNUP OR FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL (573) 483-0070 42 APRIL 2019

B U SINESS • P EOP L E • VO ICE S • F YI

OP I N I ON : AL GER M ON D

Photo provided by wincharger.com

A Windy Prospect

BY A L GERMON D

WIND — ONE OF THE GIFTS OF NATURE. A provider of electric energy was first demonstrated in 1888 when Charles Brush installed a wind turbine electric generator to power the lights and appliances in his Cleveland home.

In the current stampede to reduce carbon emissions and combat global warming, power from the wind has been rediscovered.

Almost a century ago, The Wincharger Corporation, The Jacobs Wind Electric Company, Parris-Dunn Manufacturing Co., The Wind-LightPower Co., Ruralite, and others began offering wind-powered electric systems to customers far removed from city-based sources. Vestiges of these installations remain, and you can spot one tower still on a farmstead near Goldsberry, Missouri. The Rural Electrification Act, signed in 1935 by President Roosevelt, largely obviated these wind-driven plants as electric cooperatives opened up across the country; one of the first was here in Boone County.

Now wind is back. At first, we were told the giant wind turbines were practical only across a sliver of elevated land in northwest Missouri, so up they went, spinning away.

Woosh, woosh, woosh — blades tall enough to mandate nighttime obstruction lighting by the FAA and the usual flurry of unintended consequences and complaints, some of them from ecologically-minded folks you’d least expect to be bothered.

So now the fury has blown into northwest Boone County. Heavily wooded; sparsely populated; largely unnoticed in the rush to develop the county’s other sectors. The proposal by a Chicago-based firm to place the tall towers and their spinning trio of blades across this least-noticed area of the county has aroused the dander of dozens of residents. “Not so fast,” they say after their attorneys and other advisors began questioning the language in the proposed land lease agreements.

Harnessing the gifts of nature is an admirable cause now that the world has been aroused to do something about climate change. Neat propositions all. Water, solar, wind, the tides, geothermal, and so on. President Roosevelt was convinced during the 1930s that the massive tidal changes in the Bay of Fundy near his summer home would make the Passamaquoddy

Project in eastern Maine a viable proposition. That was until a series of controversies cancelled the idea after construction had begun.

A law of physics. Electricity from each and every renewable source is produced as direct current as it was pioneered by Thomas A. Edison.

But the flaw of direct current is that it can’t be transmitted over long distances.

Nikola Tesla had a different idea. Alternate the source of electricity in cycles (60 is the standard in this country, 50 across Europe) and then voltage may be raised and lowered — transformed — allowing electric power to be sent over long distances and shared with other producers via interconnected grids of synchronized power.

The electric wind turbines that may go up across northwest Boone County will dump massive quantities of direct current into a processing facility that in turn regulates and alternates it so that power from the wind can be inserted into the grid. Whatever deleterious effects these giant turbines may have on the surrounding flora and fauna has yet to be determined, but that also applies for everywhere with wind turbines, for which there has been no conclusive proof of harm.

For some, skepticism remains, especially about the developing slugfest over the widely heralded conversion to electrically powered vehicles. How robust will the electric grid be every evening when tens of millions of owners plug their vehicles in to be recharged? There have been huge strides in storage battery technology. The current doyen is lithium, a substance not found in abundance on our shores, and that is a concern, though there is confidence that other sources will be discovered and that research will take care of the rest.

We always figure out a way to lick these challenges. Never say never. We hope to be around to see today's seemingly impossible made possible. CBT Al Germond is the host of the Columbia Business Times Sunday Morning Roundtable at 8:15 a.m. Sundays on KFRU. He can be reached at algermond@businesstimescompany.com.

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 43

BUR POST-BUBBLE

44 APRIL 2019

RST Commercial construction rebounds, but needs skilled workers.

BY JODIE JACKSON JR. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANTHONY JINSON

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 45

TEN YEARS LATER, memories of the economy speeding towards a brick-and-mortar wall, fueled by a growing bubble of subprime mortgages, low-interest rates, and a glut of new homes, are a bit less painful for real estate developers and construction companies.

When the bubble popped and the Great Recession took hold in 2008 and 2009, few industries — other than the biggest banks and insurance companies — felt the seismic rumble more than the construction industry. Look at the numbers: The City of Columbia issued 284 commercial building permits in 2008, with a construction valuation of $168 million. (It should be noted that 49 of those permits were for new construction, but “new construction” isn’t defined as only a new building — it could be referring to a new air filtration system or installation of new equipment.) At the end of 2009, the number of commercial building permits totaled 227, and the valuation of only $74.5 million proved the cataclysmic effect of the bursting bubble.

A semi-steady stable of school, church, hospital, and government projects helped most construction companies, including Coil Construction, weather the storm. “They’re the saving grace for the industry,” says Randy Coil, owner of Coil Construction.

He says that, in 2008 and 2009, his company experienced a drop in work nearly parallel to the precipitous valuation drop, and although the volume of work has returned to pre-recession levels, another troubling wound from the bubble burst has not fully recovered.

“We had a lot of construction workers leave the industry,” Coil says. “More than any other industry.

It’s what we’re seeing not just locally, but nationally.”

As the industry grapples with the labor shortage, especially among skilled workers, other aftershocks have rumbled, but not toppled, the industry.

Remember the tariffs last year, the first volleys of the Trump administration’s trade war with China, Canada, and a host of other countries? “There was a pretty good jump” in construction costs due to the tariffs, Coil says, “and not just steel.” But more on that later.

Retail construction has slowed, “for obvious reasons,” Coil says, listing the familiar litany of economic impacts of online shopping and e-commerce options, which compete with brick-and-mortar storefronts.

Though not on the same scale as the cost of tariffs, local builders and developers have also had to become accustomed to a new Unified Design Code, the city’s codification and revision of zoning regulations.

“It took us a while to get used to it — including the city,” Coil says of the still-new UDC. “We’re all working through that” and city staff seems to be making a concerted effort to arrive at “good, smart decisions with this new code,” he says.

46 APRIL 2019

The Coil Construction team works on the new Cherry Hill Dental building

Number of Construction Permits Issued in Columbia Over the Past 10 Years

Year

Number of Commercial Permits

New* Permits

Valuation of Permits**

2007

240

53

$100 million

2008

284

49

$168 million

2009

227

46

$74.5 million

2010

251

33

$63.2 million

2011

196

35

$66 million

2012

250

42

$109 million

2013

286

35

$97 million

2014

265

45

$120 million

2015

270

57

$109 million

2016

236

58

$103 million

2017

255

70

$151 million

2018

247

55

$104 million

Jan.

11

0

$4.5 million

2019

* "New Construction" permits don't always call for buildings. For instance, half of the 70 new commercial construction permits issued in 2017 were not for buildings, infill, or renovation. The uses include adding air filtration systems, installation of equipment, and similar work. ** Valuation is the dollar value of all construction costs, not the value of the property, real estate, or business.

Growing Pains

Building permit numbers and trends naturally tend to reflect the condition of the economy, says Tim Teddy, the city’s community development director. The valuation of commercial construction, though, has been more stable than the figures accompanying residential building permits. He echoed Coil’s observation that institutional commercial buildings — a new church, for instance — don’t add retail revenue, but those projects do contribute jobs.

Teddy also points out that looking at a period of permitting may not produce an eye-popping aggregate total, but one or two projects can recalibrate the picture in a positive direction — new projects like the burgeoning construction of a $150 million-plus plant for Aurora Organic Dairy.

And Columbia’s population continues to get a boost. The city’s estimated population in 2010 stood at 108,500, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, an increase of almost 30 percent from the 2000 census estimate. The 2015 census estimate was 119,108.

The increase for Boone County as a whole is just as dramatic.

From 1980 to 2000, the county grew by 35,000 in population, an increase of 35 percent. The same level of growth — dramatic in the aggregate, but slow and steady on an annual trajectory at about 2 percent or higher — is continuing.

“We don’t have those wild swings” that bedevil the planning and growth of many areas, says real estate developer Paul Land.

It’s All Relative

Plaza Commercial Realty, Land’s company, has ridden the ebbs and flows of Columbia’s building and development economy as much as anyone. To gauge the market, they track the inventory of available space: office buildings and strip malls, professional spaces, and more. “Our vacancy rates are better in Columbia than they are nationwide. That means a healthy market,” Land says.

As far as new construction and new space, Land doesn’t put weighty stock on the number of permits that are issued. Like Teddy, he’s seen how one project — say, a medical building — can “tie up” one or more contractors for months or longer and “put a builder in high gear,” he says.

Land also cautions against looking at just permits and construction valuations to determine building options and costs.

“There’s a bigger picture,” he says, not just construction costs that go into a business seeking to finance and plan construction.

“If you want to add a 10,000-square-foot building and need one and a half acres, that’s a much harder item to find. And if you put something there, and it’s the wrong location, you’re going to be sitting on it a long time.”

Building and leasing activity might be a bit slow right now, Land says, but it is characterized differently by builders and developers who are busier. “The market is only bad if it’s slow for you,” he says.

Crunching the Numbers

What is the current level of building activity and how does it compare historically — at least to the past 10 years? First, it’s important to realize that commercial construction permits don’t have to be for new construction in order to have sizeable valuations. (Valuation listed on the permit is the value of construction, not the COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 47

Owner of Coil Construction, Randy Coil

value of the property.) January 2019 passed without any permits for new commercial construction, but one of the 11 commercial alteration permits issued is for an addition to the PepsiCo production plant on Route B in north Columbia. The construction valuation: $2.3 million.

Permits for commercial alterations — which constitute most of Columbia’s commercial building permits — can also have hefty construction valuations. For instance, an interior remodel of the Aldi grocery store on the Business Loop has a valuation of $293,000. That permit was issued in November. There was only one permit for new commercial construction issued in December, but it was for a 4,000-square-foot build-out of retail space at Columbia Mall with a $251,000 construction valuation.

Beyond Bricks and Mortar

The best post-recession annual permit total was in 2017, with 255 commercial permits — 70 for new construction — with a valuation of $151 million, not far off the 2008 high of $168 million. Even though the volume of work has returned, the construction industry is pinched for skilled workers.

“Not all the folks came back” when the construction work picked back up, Coil says. “Also, generationally, we’ve lost a lot of craftsmen.” Not as many trades and skills are being passed down through generations, and there’s less entry into construction trades.

48 APRIL 2019

“We still have a lot of work to go around,” Coil adds, noting that construction has also become more technical, with GPS- or laser-guided equipment. “That’s been a good thing,” he says, because it has created a new level of technological know-how.

“I think as an industry we have not done a good job of marketing” and recruiting workers for the more technical jobs, he says. “It’s not as back-breaking as it was for your grandfather.”

Dollars and Cents

Now, about those tariffs on steel, aluminum, and other imported building materials. The total effect was an increase of as much as 50 percent for some materials, Coil says. Market forces also increased the cost of drywall (the gypsum was more expensive) and cement, but those increases seem to have plateaued and builders, suppliers, and developers are adapting. Things were a bit easier thanks to a lesson learned as a result of the recession. “They learned to stockpile less and deliver quicker,” Coil says.

As the industry learns how to respond and adjust to the steel and aluminum tariffs, price uncertainty will no doubt put contractors on heightened risk alert when bidding on projects.

But tariffs alone aren’t responsible for higher construction costs, according to the Associated General Contractors. Diesel fuel, steel pipe and tube, asphalt paving mixtures, and aluminum products

contributed to an overall 7.4 percent hike in construction material costs in the past year, AGC analysts determined.

Learning and Growing

While the economy’s cyclical nature keeps everyone on their toes, there’s equal focus on the city’s new zoning code, which has a learning curve that is especially steep for the downtown area, Land says.

Teddy agrees with that assessment. “We try to be as fair as we can in applying the code” while holding projects to the new provisions that are built on form-based zoning rules. He adds that not all the code is new. In fact, most of it isn’t, but it’s “kind of republished in a single package,” a look that engineers, builders, and developers aren’t used to seeing.

Coil isn’t convinced that the new code took out as much uncertainty from the previous rules as city officials intended, but he’s closely following how the still-new UDC is unfolding and being interpreted.

“We’re still light years ahead of everybody else,” Land says, repeating his observation of Columbia’s slow, steady growth, especially compared to surrounding communities around Boone County.

“They’re standing still,” he says, “so it looks like we’re sprinting.” CBT

What people are saying ...

“I have full mobility now.

No limitations!”

- DAN

“My posture is better, I’m sleeping better, and no allergy meds in 4 months!”

“They can get your life in balance.”

- JULIE

- KAREN

Call us to see how we can get YOU on the path to wellness.

There are far too many stories of unnecessary probate problems, typically due to an unclear estate plan, or even worse, no estate plan at all.

This is a recipe for disaster.

573-442-5520 AchieveBalanceChiropractic.com 1000 West Nifong, Building 8 Suite 100, Columbia

We make the process as easy and stress free as possible.

Call today to begin the conversation.

303 N. Stadium Blvd. Suite 200 Columbia | 573-874-1122 NathanJonesLaw.com The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements.

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 49

Andrew DuCharme, general manager and part owner 50 APRIL 2019

MOVING SOUTH Lakota Coffee Company brings cups full of warmth and community to Columbia’s south side.

BY MARY KATE HAFNER PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANTHONY JINSON

LOCAL COFFEE SHOPS have become hubs of community.

Wouldn’t you agree that everyone has a favorite coffee shop? They are symbols of growth where social tribes connect and discuss, which makes Lakota Coffee Company’s move to the south side of Columbia even more meaningful. It symbolizes the steady and continued growth of that side of town.

Husband and wife duo Skip and Deb DuCharme opened Lakota Coffee in 1992 on Ninth Street in the heart of The District. For 27 years, the coffee shop has fostered conversation, ideas, and delicious sugary bites. While the couple remains at the front lines of their original location, the next generation is now making an impact. Andrew, the couple’s son, has made his mark on the family business by opening Lakota Coffee’s first secondary location.

HEADING OUT OF DOWNTOWN

Andrew started working at the downtown location in 2004 and continued to work there throughout his time as a student at MU, where he studied hotel and restaurant management. Upon graduating in 2009, he became the coffee shop’s general manager. More recently, he became part owner of the business.

In early June 2018, Andrew got a call about a retail space opening up on Green Meadows Drive. After one visit to the aged laundromat next to Murry’s and across from Flyover, he was hooked on the location. “We wanted to have a little bit of an upgrade,” says Andrew. “We love our downtown location, but we just fell for this location and for this space. We love how it’s designed.”

Wanting a fresh start with the space, Andrew worked it into his lease that he would take over the space as a white box. Having the space already cleared for him cut down on the amount of time it took to renovate the space by allowing the construction crews to get right to work.

Little Dixie Construction was the exclusive contractor on the renovation project, and Andrew acted as the core designer. A self-proclaimed perfectionist, Andrew says his biggest construction hurdle was releasing control to others. Thankfully, throughout the renovation process, they had few hiccups, and Little Dixie completed the project on time in about six weeks.

“We love our downtown location, but we just fell for this location and for this space.”

— Andrew DuCharme, general manager and part owner of Lakota Coffee Co.

SOUTH SIDE PERKS

The biggest selling point of the new location? A drive-thru. Lakota Coffee’s new location is the only non-franchised coffee shop on the south side to have a drive-thru.

“Downtown, it’s a little different. People are walking around on foot,” says Andrew. “Here, we need to cater to that stop-and-go traffic.”

And he’s doing everything he can to help facilitate that. Andrew invested in the best drive-thru system available, HME, which is used by massive fast food chains. His goal is to have customers be in and out of the drive-thru within two minutes after ordering.

The 2,100-square-foot space’s other contrast to the downtown location is its liquor license. Andrew explains that the bar space had been a request from customers for years: People don’t always want to go to a bar, but they still want a drink. Lakota Coffee is looking to be that needed “in between” space.

52 APRIL 2019

“There’s a lot of firsts here: the first drivethru and the first time selling alcohol,” Andrew says.

THE DETAILS MATTER

Andrew’s designs for the new location were driven by the wants of his current and potential south side customers. He envisioned a modern rustic look, contrasting slightly with Lakota’s known bohemian rustic appearance.

Immediately upon entering the main dining area, visitors can see and feel the difference between the south side and downtown locations.

Exposed light bulbs hang above the neutral colored counter. Wrapped around the cof-

fee counter, the bar is spacious, with plenty of cushioned seats. Gray columns accented with large, smooth stones can be seen on walls and on their own throughout the cafe.

The familiar bulky chairs of downtown have been updated with slim, desk-like chairs accented with matte metallic metal exposure.

A red accented room divider gives definition to the bar and main sitting spaces. The natural elements mixed with sleek metals bridge the two locations.

Andrew collaborated with his parents on the new location’s interior to ensure a somewhat familiar look and feel between the two locations. Deb pushed for a ten-top Old Hickory Furniture Co. community table. The table

sits in front of a wood-paneled wall, which was chosen by Skip. The natural woods echo Lakota’s earthy downtown aesthetic.

An additional 300 square feet of patio space located in the back of the café will be used for entertainment. Andrew is currently seeking a public performance license for musicians to play during warmer months. The patio space can hold up to 25 people and has five four-top tables. Additional outdoor space in the front of the café can fit up to 15 people.

After their successful grand opening, Andrew is now enjoying the fruits of his labor and is looking forward to seeing the new location reflect its community as much as Lakota Coffee on Ninth does. CBT COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 53

I don’t just see a customer.

I see you.

While other insurance companies just see a customer, I see a neighbor in my community. I’m here to get to know who you really are so I can help life go right.

LET’S TALK TODAY.

Phyllis Nichols, Agent

573-443-8727 | phyllis.nichols.g15k@statefarm.com 1006 West Boulevard North | Columbia 1706814

54 APRIL 2019

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company State Farm Fire and Casualty Company Bloomington, IL

A Promising

PROPERTY After a lengthy cleanup process and years of vacancy, will the City of Columbia and Ameren reach an agreement on a North Village Arts property?

BY KACEN J. BAYLESS

E Ash St

St James St

Orr St

Park Ave

THE NORTH VILLAGE ARTS DISTRICT IN DOWNTOWN COLUMBIA HAS A LOT TO OFFER. Styled as a “bohemian paradise,” the area is filled with hip shops, cafés, and art galleries where more than 150 artists share their work.

In the center of this paradise, however, is a piece of property that nears dereliction.

Surrounded by a chain-link fence and signs that read “no parking any time,” the property at 210 Orr St. has been described as, at best, an “eyesore” in an otherwise thriving part of the city.

As barren as it looks now, the site has had a rather long and complicated history.

In the late 1800s and early 20th century, the property was used as a manufactured gas plant where Columbia Gas Works produced gas from coal or oil for lighting, cooking, and heating. The property’s pavement, now covered in weeds popping up through the cracks, was once the site of boilers and gasholders.

Several years and name changes later, Union Electric Company — now owned by Ameren — closed down gas production in 1932. Up until a decade or so ago, the property was an Ameren maintenance site where the company kept its service trucks overnight.

Although still owned by Ameren, it is now all but abandoned.

Over the years, there have been numerous calls from city residents and city officials to purchase the property, with many members of the North Village Arts District citing the area as a perfect place for a greenspace.

The city has a “right of refusal” agreement with Ameren to have the first opportunity to purchase the property if it ever goes up for sale. However, even after two subsequent cleanups of the area — in 1994 and 2013 — there are still concerns about what possible contaminants remain from the former gas plant.

56 APRIL 2019

Clean It Up Beginning in the mid-’90s and into the early 2000s, Ameren began to investigate possible soil contamination on the site left over from the gas plant. In 1994, the company conducted a cleanup of impacted soil on parts of the property. In 2006, Ameren began plans to move its service facility from the property and apply for a brownfields voluntary cleanup with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

That cleanup began in 2013.

Chris Cady, an environmental scientist with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, says a brownfields cleanup is a way for people to take care of a contamination problem and often facilitates the sale or redevelopment of a property.

The natural resources department oversees the cleanup process, and once it’s completed, a “clean letter” is issued stating that a property meets all requirements.

“The important term is ‘voluntary,’” Cady says. “It’s not an enforcement program.

People bring properties to us that they want to clean up, and what they get on the back end is a letter from the state saying you’ve cleaned up the site to our standards and it’s suitable for future intended use.”

Cady says most states have these voluntary cleanup programs because it helps keep properties redeveloped instead of sitting unused due to environmental concerns — most people don’t want to buy a property that is considered contaminated.

And that’s where the status of the Ameren property gets interesting.

During the cleanup of the site, Ameren removed over 30,000 tons of contaminated soil and debris found anywhere from 14 to 21 feet below the surface. Cady estimates that the cost of the cleanup was between $4 and $5 million.

The brownfields cleanup of the site was officially completed in 2018, and on October 11, 2018, Ameren received their official “clean letter” from the department.

However, Ameren’s completion letter also included an “environmental covenant” agreement with the natural resources department with several restrictions on the use of the property.

Although the site’s cleanup was completed to the department’s standards, there is still some contamination left underneath the property that restricts the property’s use. After the completion of the cleanup, the department listed contaminants of concern that still remained on the site, including several carcinogens like benzene and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Although these contaminants are deep enough below the soil to not be an immediate concern, the natural resources department covenant states that: “The property shall not be used for residential purposes; soil on the property shall only be disturbed with consent by the department; construction of any new buildings is allowed only with written approval by the department, and there should be no drilling or use of groundwater on the property.”

Cady says that, with these rules in place, the property is considered safe and, if an entity like the city was to purchase it, no further certifications would be required.

“It meets our standards with certain restrictions in place,” he says. “As long as these limitations are followed, then it’s safe. The certification runs with the land, it doesn’t matter who owns it as long as those requirements are upheld. The new owner is subject to those requirements unless someone does more investigations and finds more contaminants or someone does additional cleanup.”

In terms of what the property could be used for, Cady says most of the contamination found is 10 to 20 feet deep, so development on the surface would not be affected by the restrictions. Especially if the development was — like many residents have called for — bought and turned into a park or green space.

“I think (a park) would work, yeah,” he says. “A park is generally a surface type of use and the issues that are remaining at the property are generally pretty deep.”

A Green Space The concept of turning the lot into a green space or park has been on the minds of city officials and residents since 2010, when city council approved the idea in the H3 Charrette Plan. In 2013, when Ameren first began to clean up the area, city council also adopted its Columbia Imagined city planning document with possible ideas for the site.

With the site now approved by the natural resources department with an environmental covenant, many residents and groups in the area, like the North Village Arts District board and the Downtown Leadership Council, have asked the city to purchase the property. Both groups have written letters to members of city council with ideas of what to do with the property.

In a letter from the North Village Arts District board to the city council, the board expressed their disappointment with the restrictions on the property by the department of natural resources and stated, “The best course of action would be for the city and our organization to work with Ameren to acquire the currently restricted two-acre plot at a great discount, relieving Ameren of all liability, contingent on the city securing a brownfields environmental cleanup grant from the EPA with the help of our state and local officials.”

The letter from the Downtown Leadership Council echoed the sentiment that the property should be purchased in hopes of further cleanup and less restrictions.

For realty owners in the area, like John Ott, and business owners, like Van Hawxby, who owns DogMaster Distillery across the street, a park or greenspace would only further improve an already vibrant part of the city.

“The arts district continues to grow in popularity, and every six months you go, ‘Wow, there’s something new here, there’s a new business here, there’s more artists here, there’s more activities and events, and there’s more visitors,’” Ott says. “It’s really pretty exciting to see how it’s growing, and so to be able to add a greenspace like that in the center of the arts district — it would just be a real asset. You could have musical events. You could have many arts festivals , just events and activities that could lend itself to the arts district’s quality of life.”

“It meets our standards with certain restrictions in place.

As long as these limitations are followed, then it’s safe.

The certification runs with the land — it doesn’t matter who owns it as long as those requirements are upheld. The new owner is subject to those requirements unless someone does more investigations and finds more contaminants or someone does additional cleanup.”

— Chris Cady COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 57

Will they sell?

Will they buy?

Not actual renderings for the Ameren property.

58 APRIL 2019

However, as residents call on the city to act, city officials say the ball is in Ameren’s court.

Councilman Michael Trapp, who once was one of the main advocates of purchasing the property, says he’s become less optimistic about its potential use to the city.

“We certainly would be in a place where we would spend a considerable amount of money for a property that we may or may not be able to use in any way that kind of advances city aims,” Trapp says. “It would be an uncertain, expensive process to try to get it cleaned up where it could be used beyond a surface parking lot.”

When the city was imagining plans for the property, Trapp says he had several ideas, like a Turkish market, commercial mixed-use space, or an open greenspace.

“It’s a neat area, and you can do a lot of things on the property if we had the environmental clearance, but as the years have gone by, it seems increasingly unlikely that there’s going to be any level of environmental clearance for any projects that the city might be interested in,” he says.

Interim City Manager John Glascock says that although Ameren has not officially approached the city about purchasing the property, there will be ongoing discussions about what the company’s next step will be.

“Any greenspace is good in a downtown area,” he says. “It could be a sculpture park.

It could be just a regular walk-through park. It just depends on what council sees it as. . . . You’re going to have to have a lot of public input. I would suspect the residents might see it differently from the arts district, so you always have to have that discussion.”

Before any decisions can be made, they first have to agree on a price.

“We’re on the buying end of it and they’re on the selling end of it, so they’re in control. We’re not,” Glascock says. “It’s really up to them.”

According to Boone County’s online real estate information, Ameren’s property is currently appraised at $651,237. CBT

SIMPLIFY YOUR INTERNET SEARCH. Let us do the research.

You make the choice.

Locally owned.

Multiple options.

Competitive rates.

Spring Into Action

Schedule your spring clean today!

To receive a discount, mention this ad.

Call Stephanie at (573) 256-1920.

Here’s what our clients are saying: “For 30 years, my family has trusted Personal Touch to help us care for our home. Although the faces may change, the attitude, commitment and willingness to do a good job remain constant. Sue Riley and her staff have been completely responsible and trustworthy all those years.”

BUSINESS AND RESIDENTIAL Fiber Optic Cable DSL Wimax and Microwave Wireless Television and Phone Services Satellite Television

Call 573-256-1166

-Marilyn Hoecker CUT THE CORD. BREAK FREE. EXPLORE YOUR OPTIONS.

Does your home need a Personal Touch?

Office: 573.256.1920 www.personaltouchcleaningservicellc.com Like us on Facebook!

1301 Vandiver Dr. Ste. C Columbia, Mo. 65201

QuantumWirelessInternet.com COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 59

S P E C I A L A DV E RT I S I N G S E C T I O N

The building and remodeling landscape in Columbia is changing so quickly it can be hard to keep up.

Real estate has not been this unpredictable in quite some time.

And Columbia continues to grow at a near record pace.

No one will dispute there’s a lot going on in our fair city.

Here’s your chance to discover some real pros who are closely connected to real estate, remodeling and construction, and the financial pieces of it all.

LINDNERPROPERTY.COM

N OW L E A S I N G Commercial retail & office space throughout Columbia Forum Shopping Center

Nifong Shopping Center

The Broadway Shops

Broadway Bluffs FEATURED LISTINGS

The Broadway Shops Suite 160 2709 E. Broadway • 2,875 SF • End Cap with Patio Space Nifong Shopping Center 205 E. Nifong • 8,000 - 33,000 SF available • Space available summer 2019

1400 Forum Boulevard #10.5, Columbia, Missouri lindnerproperty.com | (573) 446-5500 COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 61

HAPPY CLIENTS. AN ALL INCLUSIVE BROKERAGE PROVIDING UNPARALLELED SERVICE TO OUR AGENTS, THEIR CLIENTS, AND THIS COMMUNITY.

LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT SETS US APART AT IGREALESTATE.COM 62 APRIL 2019

HAPPY AGENTS. 2635 S PROVIDENCE RD COLUMBIA, MO 65203 | 573.777.5001 COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 63

64 APRIL 2019

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 65

66 APRIL 2019

HOMES STARTING AT 199K ONE OF COLUMBIA NEWEST SUBDIVISIONS

100% USDA eligible • LEED capable homes available YOUR GO TO BUILDER FOR ALL YOUR RENOVATION AND CUSTOM HOME NEEDS You can count on thoughtful, award-winning design when you work with Spillman Homes.

From semi-custom homes to custom homes to renovations, you’ll love every detail.

Renovation New construction Custom and Semicustom homes

(573) 777-SOLD www.columbiarealestate.com 2100 West Broadway Columbia, MO 65203

(573) 397-6090 Jeremy Spillman [M] 573-864-2936

www.missourimortgagesource.com 33 East Broadway, Suite 290, Columbia, MO 65203 Branch NMLS: 1180608

jeremy@spillmanhomes.com www.spillmanhomes.com 6121 Forester Drive | Columbia, MO 65202

Company NMLS: 227262. Not a commitment to lend. Additional terms and conditions apply. DAS Acquisition Company, LLC is not affiliated with or endorsed by any government entity or agency, including USDA, HUD or VA. Headquarters: 12140 Woodcrest Executive Drive, Suite 150, St. Louis, Missouri 63141, Toll Free: (888) 250-6522. For complete licensing information visit http://www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org.

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 67

Who doesn’t love a beautiful fireplace?

Before

Does your home look dated because of your old, inefficient fireplace?

Let us update your home with a beautiful, modern and efficient Mendota fireplace!

Our Customers Love Us! “We just completed the purchase and installation of two gas fireplace inserts from Advanced Chimney. We couldn’t be happier with the inserts and the level of service from start to finish. Omie, Dale, Cedar and everyone we met treated us like gold, helped us choose great products, answered our many questions, unfailingly followed through with every detail, and kept us completely informed during the whole process. The final cost is exactly what we were led to expect, even a little less. Their consistent concern for our long-term safety and comfort gave us tremendous confidence that we were in very good hands, no small matter when you are adding a gas appliance. This exemplary customer service was carried out with friendliness, humor, skill, and professionalism. I’d say we are happy customers and beyond!”

– Lynn Parshall

After

Photos courtesy of Mendota

Advanced Chimney Techniques Providing Columbia and Central Missouri with comprehensive chimney care for over 33 years.

AdvancedChimneyTechniques.com 68 APRIL 2019 1-888-294-2031 | facebook.com/AdvancedChimneyTech

“Advanced Chimney has been a wonderful addition to my business and personal life. As a realtor I have used their products to raise the value in 4 homes I have sold.

But most importantly, I love the wood stove insert in my personal home! They were instrumental in helping me choose the right product for my needs and budget. When making an investment like a fireplace or wood stove, expertise is so important. With amazing customer service and tremendous product knowledge the Advanced Chimney family has helped turn my house into a home!”

– Adam D. Rau, Owner of Black Dog Consulting and Development LLC

Have you dreamt of expanding the comfort of your home with that perfect outdoor space?

Often, creating an outdoor gathering space expands the comfort of home to your backyard. Whether it is a get together with friends and family or just a quiet night at home, spending the evening relaxing in a comfortable and stylish outdoor space is the perfect way to end any day.

Working with the Kliethermes team means you are treated like family.

Together we can transform your home to be everything you dream of for every season (ok maybe not winter).

Call Cale today to begin your next project.

573.446.2222 | kliethermes.com COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 69

Alissa Gerke and Roz Noria Real Estate Brokers Select Realty Group 70 APRIL 2019

C e l e b ra t i n g 5 ye a r s !

Select Realty Group, LLC is celebrating its 5th year in real estate sales serving Mid-Missouri. Select Realty Group has earned its place in the real estate industry due to its commitment to providing the best real estate services to its clients.

Select Realty Group is a boutique firm with Rosalind Hakimi, broker-salesperson, and Alissa Gerke, broker-associate/owner at the helm. But, don’t let the small size fool you. These brokers have over 24 years combined experience in the real estate industry, and are highly specialized Realtors who work tirelessly for their clients.

Their clients appreciate the open communication, extensive market data, use of latest technology and marketing strategies.

Select Realty Group helps make the home buying and selling process smoother, by educating buyers and sellers about the real estate industry, the local market and setting expectations.

Their ability to be proactive and problem solve for their clients has helped keep contracts together for an overall positive outcome.

Their client satisfaction ratings speaks for itself by their continuous referred business.

Select Realty Group prioritizes giving back to their local Missouri communities where they work, live and play. A large portion of Rosalind’s & Alissa’s business is helping veterans. They specialize in understanding the VA loan and its requirements to better serve veterans using their VA loan benefit. In addition to other organizations that they support, Select Realty Group is dedicated to giving back to several veteran organizations and charity events that support local veterans.

Select Realty Group www.owncolumbia.com | (573) 489-6866 COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 71

72 APRIL 2019

EXPERTISE MATTERS...

With more than 60 years of combined experience, we each have highly specialized areas of expertise allowing for continued attention to details each step of the way.

In addition to specializing listing homes, we focus on obtaining top dollar with least time on market.

We also excel in: • construction • development • commercial real estate • strategic marketing techniques for homes • executing all the details of contractual work Signature Real Estate Group is redefining the way real estate is sold with an innovative business model and revolutionizing the real estate industry.

LET US DEMONSTRATE THIS TO YOU!

The importance of a buyer’s agent ...

Marcia Thrasher is an award winning agent advocating for the wants and needs of the buyer.

Brooke McCarty, Laura Gauldin, Jay Wilson, Marcia Thrasher

While there is no cost to utilizing a buyer’s agent, it can cost a buyer a lot in the end by not having their own representation. Marcia is a skilled negotiator and pricing expert and understands how to avoid industry pitfalls.

573-256-8601

Si g nature Como.com | 573- 2 89-2 80 0 | S e r v i n g Co l u m b i a COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM & su r ro u n d in g a re 73a s

74 APRIL 2019

9 1 0 E a s t B ro a d way. Suit e 2 0 7 . Columb ia, M O 6 5 2 0 1 (5 7 3 ) 9 9 5 - 4 4 0 5 COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 75

76 APRIL 2019

Monarch Title Company, Inc. WHAT IS YOUR SPECIALTY? Real estate title

and communication to ensure the closing process is seamless and done correctly, and the fact that we own up to our day to day responsibilities to ensure the job is completed with the best interest of all parties involved.

insurance and settlement closings.

WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR

TO WHAT DO YOU ATTRIBUTE YOUR FIRM’S

BUSINESS? That we care about doing the right job, the right way, the first time, and that we have an interest in protecting our customer’s greatest asset. We do everything needed on a day to day basis to be compliant with all regulations to assure our customers that we meet the highest standards in our industry.

SUCCESS? Exemplary customer service and

always being available to handle questions and making sure our work schedules and processes meet the customer’s needs.

WHY SHOULD SOMEONE CONSIDER YOUR COMPANY? We have put a lot of time and effort

to ensure our customers, and the community, that we meet the highest standard in our profession. We were one of the first companies in Missouri to become third party certified in American Land Title Industry Best Practices.

WHAT DO YOUR CLIENTS LIKE MOST ABOUT YOUR FIRM? Our clients appreciate our follow-up

111 E. Broadway, Ste. 100 Columbia, MO 573-441-0725 | monarchtitle.com

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 77

TIMBERLAKE ENGINEERING

Celebrating

20

Celebrating 20 Years of Providing Practical Designs

Years

In 1999, after a successful career in the construction industry, at Anheuser-Busch, Drummond Mechanical and the Columbia Public Schools, Mark Timberlake started Timberlake Engineering from his home.

“I thought I could use those experiences to deliver good designs to people by being the engineer,” he says.

Timberlake Engineering’s business philosophy has always been to provide practical designs to clients, and high-quality, personal service to its partners.

“We really care about all the people involved in each project,” says Timberlake, PE, LEED-AP, CEM. “Many engineers have not had to live with their own designs, but we have. We appreciate the long-term cost, energy, maintenance, and performance issues related with different designs and strategies.”

Mark Timberlake in front of the site of the new Columbia Public Schools middle school in southwest Columbia

912 Old 63 South, Columbia, MO 65201 (573) 875-4365 Timberlakeengineering.com MECHANICAL - ELECTRICAL - PLUMBING - COMMISSIONING 78 APRIL 2019

The firm is a full-service mechanical/HVAC, electrical, lighting, plumbing and LEEDconsulting engineering firm, with a diverse experience base. Timberlake Engineering’s contributions to the Columbia community can be seen through its broad list of projects, from IBM to Shakespeare’s Pizza to the Columbia Public Schools.

IN FOCUS

PARKING SPACES & PLACES

Employee parking downtown may not be ideal, but is it really the problem everyone thinks it is?

BY DAVID MORRISON

IN FOCUS

I

f you work in downtown Columbia and are lamenting the fact that there is no permit parking available, well, that’s not entirely true. You’ve just got to be willing to walk a little bit.

Leah Christian, who serves as transit and parking manager for the City of Columbia, says there are currently 31 permits available in the garage at Fifth and Walnut, and that number is probably on its way up given the number of parkers who have turned their permits for the garage back in to the city recently or traded them in for open spots at Sixth and Cherry.

There are also 32 on-street permit spots available through the city’s discounted $35 a

“People really value being able to have the least amount of walking involved and getting somewhere after they park,” Christian says. “That’s what I’ve found. Columbia is growing. From what I’ve been told, there was a time when you could just go anywhere and park right in front of wherever you were going. That’s changing, and I think people feel frustrated.”

According to figures compiled by the Downtown Community Improvement District, more than 7,000 people work in and nearly 700 people live in the CID’s 50 square blocks between Park on the north, Elm on the south, Fourth on the west, and the Arts District on the east. If

month Parkmobile program, which started in 2015, though like the Fifth and Walnut garage, they’re a little further away from the action than the city’s other parking areas. Most of those spots are situated on either Walnut between First and Fifth or along Park in the North Village Arts District.

If you’re holding out for permits in the prime lots — Tenth and Cherry, Eighth and Cherry, or Short Street garages, to name a few — then you may be in for a bit of a wait. Call the city and get your name on the list now. Or take a further-flung spot and hope that you can trade it in for a permit in a more centralized garage soon.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE DOWNTOWN PARKING SITUATION LOT NAME

Parking Type

Spaces

Issued

Allowed

Oversell Pct

Wait List

10th & Cherry Garage

Permit

164

199

209

121.3%

156

5th & Walnut Garage

Permit

561

714

745

127.3%

0

6th & Cherry Garage

Permit

292

300

359

102.7%

79

6th & Cherry Garage

Reserved

1

1

1

100.0%

0

8th & Cherry Garage

Permit

78

99

97

126.9%

157

8th & Cherry Garage

Reserved

52

50

52

96.2%

0

9th & Ash Street

Lot

89

112

113

125.8%

58

Armory

Lot

187

248

248

132.6%

87

Plaza

Permit

207

255

265

123.2%

68

Plaza

Reserved

38

35

38

92.1%

0

Ramp

Reserved

14

14

14

100.0%

0

Short Street Garage

Permit

312

338

345

108.3%

131

Short Street Garage

Reserved

48

51

48

106.3%

0

Lot

72

84

87

116.7%

37

Street

200

168

200

84.0%

0

Wabash On-Street

Information provided by the City of Columbia Parking Utility

80 APRIL 2019

C i t y Pa r k i n g you expand the radius of “downtown” to a mile around the CID, it encompasses more than 23,000 workers and 18,000 residents.

The city governs nearly 4,600 total spots downtown on the street, in garages, or in lots, but only about half of those are permit-required spots.

The demand for all-day parking for downtown workers is, understandably, high. The responsibility for that supply of permit parking falls on the city and private lots. But, while any new apartment building that goes up downtown is required to provide half a parking space per bedroom, there is no such provision on the books for new businesses. And the real estate availability to build on existing city parking is slim, especially in desirable areas.

“We could potentially build another parking garage if we think there’s a need for that, but I don’t know that we’d get something that’s super central,” Christian says. “It would be something like Fifth and Walnut, on the periphery of downtown. Definitely downtown, but not in the middle of it.”

A permit in the Eighth and Cherry garage goes for $100 a month. There are 78 spots available and 99 sold. The wait list is 157. A Tenth and Cherry garage spot also goes for $100 a month, and 199 of its 164 spots are sold.

The wait list is 156. The Short Street garage, behind The Broadway, goes for $80 a permit and has sold 338 of its 312 spots. The wait list there is 131, exacerbated recently by one business requesting 60 spaces.

Overall, the city has 2,315 spaces and 2,668 permits issued with a total wait list of 773. Permits are currently about 15 percent oversold.

“You’ve got permit-holders who aren’t using it every day, so you have the capacity to sell more spaces than there are available and for everybody to have what they need,” Christian says. “Right now, you can drive through any of our garages and you’ll see, with the exception of Tenth and Cherry — which tends to be a pretty full garage — a lot of open permit spaces. That’s one of the things we’re trying to find out. How many people use these parking spaces, and are there enough? My base assessment, based on the fact that we have open spaces in our Fifth and Walnut garage and in our discount on-street permit program, is that we do have enough spaces, but we may not have enough of the preferred spaces.”

While any new apartment building that goes up downtown is required to provide half a parking space per bedroom, there is no such provision on the books for new businesses.

The city is just beginning a major inventory of the supply and demand for parking downtown. Columbia has retained Walker Consultants, a firm based in Tampa, Florida, that has 19 locations around the country, to aid in the process.

A team from Walker was on the ground in Columbia in late March to survey the situation after poring over data provided by the city. Christian says she hopes to be able to start implementing recommendations within a year. The city’s Parking Advisory Commission, which held its first meeting in February 2018 and is made up of six members appointed by the city council and one each appointed by MU, the CID, and the Downtown Leadership Council, also has the option of acting on recommendations in the interim.

At the very least, Christian hopes the consultation will yield a way to better track how

much expanded capacity each new commercial space downtown could yield, such as the building at Eighth and Walnut that Hawthorn Bank will soon occupy.

“I’d like to be able to track that in the future, to see that we’ve got a new space going up and see how many people we have that are going to need parking in it and add it to our list, so we can sense that supply and demand,” Christian says. “Potentially, I think the consultants, when they identify that, can recommend that we need to start putting money aside to build a new parking garage or sell more parking permits. We don’t have a sense of how much we could oversell. We’re trying to understand everything we have available and how we can serve the community in the best way possible and create the most efficient system that we can.” CBT

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 81

B U SINESS • P EOP L E • VOIC ES • FY I

Realty Professionals

BY K R I STI N B L A K E

From their titles to their numbers, Columbia Board of Realtors give a glimpse into the real estate profession.

Whether you’re looking into buying or selling a building, land, or a home, you will most likely employ a real estate professional to help you at some point along the way. But do you know who you should contact? While real estate agents, Realtors, and brokers do similar tasks regarding the sale and purchase of property, their qualifications and their day-to-day work looks different. Before reaching out to someone, familiarize yourself with the differences between these titles and their training.

Real Estate Agent

Every real estate agent, or real estate salesperson, has taken required classes and passed their real estate license exam that allows them to help customers buy and sell property. Each state defines for themselves what requirements real estate agents must meet in order to receive their license. Brian Toohey, CEO of the Columbia Board of Realtors, explains that in Missouri, “a real estate licensee is an individual who is licensed by the Missouri Real Estate Commission, or MREC, to assist consumers in the buying, selling, leasing, and renting property.” This is the most basic level of the real estate hierarchy.

Realtor

Just like real estate agents, Realtors are also licensed with the MREC, but they’re also members of the National Association of Realtors. Members of this group are expected to uphold the Realtor Code of Ethics, which detail their duties to clients, customers, the public, and other Realtors, says Toohey. Realtors are also required to complete training in order to be granted member status and must do this every other year to keep their membership.

The original Realtor Code of Ethics was adopted in 1913 and was based on a code already adopted by the Kansas City real estate board. It has since been updated to meet the changes in the real estate industry and the needs of consumers.

Broker

Although requirements vary by state, brokers are better versed in topics like taxes and ethics than the basic real estate agent and have passed a broker’s license exam. Experience as a real estate agent is necessary before becoming a broker. Typically, three years as a practicing licensed real estate agent is preferred. There are several classifications of brokers: principal or designated, managing, and associate. The main difference lies in their responsibility level within a firm. If there are any problems with the transaction or with your real estate agent, the broker overseeing this agent is the person to contact to fix the issue.

82 APRIL 2019

REALTY PROFESSIONALS

Columbia Board of Realtors Membership Levels Number of CBOR members per year over the last 10 years.

640

620 601 581 580

547

556

532 516

520

500 487

486 468

460

20 18

20 17

20 16

20 15

20 14

20 13

20 12

20 11

20 10

9 0 20

20

0 8

400

BRIAN TOOHEY, CEO OF THE COLUMBIA BOARD OF REALTORS, shares the numbers of Realtors from the last ten years to show how the housing bubble burst and other real estate industry changes impacted the profession. Learn more about the COBR and their evolution over their 75-year history on page 30. CBT COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 83

red we Po

TOP OF THE TOWN

olumbia Region al A

by C irp or t

TOP 2018 DIRECTORY

We do more than just find jobs at JobFinders.

O F T HWe E build rewarding careers, TOWN one at a time. 201 8

TOP PLACE TO WORK (1-25 EMPLOYEES)

1 Place: Visionworks Marketing Group 2nd Place: The Station House at Katfish Katy’s st

CBT’s

Providing cost effective staffing

TOP STAFFING COMPANY solutions for temporary and 1st Place: Jobfinders permanent placements.

1729 W. Broadway #4 573-446-4250, JobFindersUSA.com

TOP PLACE TO WORK (26-50 EMPLOYEES) nd 2JobFindersusa.com Place: Kelly Services

1st Place: Veterans United 2nd Place: Central Bank of Boone County

1729JANITORIAL West Broadway #4 TOP SERVICES

TOP COMMERCIAL REALTOR

TOP WithBANK offices in Jefferson City,

1st Place: Gina Rende 213 N. Stadium Blvd., #203 573-443-3200, MalyRealty.com

Shopping Center st 1Broadway Place: Atkins Columbia, MO 65203 nd 2Phone Place: Tiger Maids - 573.446.4250

st 1Mexico, Place:Sedalia Centraland BankColumbia. of Boone County 2nd Place: Landmark Bank

TOP REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER 1st Place: Mike Tompkins 2nd Place: Rob Wolverton

2nd Place: Jack Maher, III 3610 Buttonwood Drive, #200 573-228-6321, MaherCRE.com

TOP BUSINESS INSURANCE

1st Place: Casey Buckman 2nd Place: LG Patterson 1 Place: True Media 2nd Place: Missouri Employers Mutual st

TOP COMMERCIAL BUILDER 1st Place: Coil Construction 209 E. Broadway 573-874-1444, CoilConstruction.com

1 Place: Brooke Berkey 2nd Place: Megan Meier-Walters st

2 Place: Huebert Builders 3407 Berrywood Drive 573-449-4996, HuebertBuilders.com nd

TOP EMERGING PROFESSIONAL

2nd Place: Breakout CoMo

TOP ACCOUNTING SERVICE

TOP PLACE TO CLOSE A DEAL

1st Place: Accounting Plus 1604 Business Loop 70 W. 573-445-3805, AccountingPlusInc.com

2 Place: Gerding, Korte & Chitwood 20 South 5th Street 573-449-1599, gkccpas.com nd

TOP IT COMPANY 1st Place: Midwest Computech 2nd Place: Delta Systems

TOP HR FIRM

TOP CHAMBER VOLUNTEER

2 Place: Moresource nd

84 APRIL 2019

1st Place: Valerie Zumwalt 2nd Place: Kim Becking

TOP BUSINESS COACH 1st Place: Carolyn Paris Consulting Performance Consultant & Coach 573-819-6705, CarolynParis.com

TOP COFFEE MEETING LOCATION 1st Place: The Grind Coffe House 2nd Place: Kaldi’s Coffee

TOP PLACE FOR A BUSINESS LUNCH 1st Place: D. Rowe’s 2nd Place: Sycamore

TOP ARCHITECT

1st Place: Simon Oswald Architecture 2801 Woodward Dr. #103 573-443-1407, SOA-Inc.com

2nd Place: Tom Trabue

TOP BUSINESS ATTORNEY 1st Place: Nathan Jones 2nd Place: Daniel Beckett

TOP VIDEOGRAPHER 1st Place: Cosmic Sauce 2nd Place: Thom Baker

TOP ENTREPRENEUR 1st Place: Amanda Quick 2nd Place: Cara Owings

TOP COMMERCIAL LANDSCAPER

1st Place: Chris Rosskopf 2nd Place: Jason Ramsey

1st Place: Columbia EDP 1816 Vandiver Drive 573-474-8431, ColumbiaEDP.com

1st Place: Central Bank 2nd Place: 44 Canteen

TOP BUSINESS SPEAKER

1st Place: Jesse Walters 2nd Place: Wendy Moore

TOP COMMERCIAL LENDER

1st Place: Paint the Town 2703 East Broadway, #127 573-777-7795 PaintTheTownColumbia.com

1st Place: Connection Exchange 2nd Place: GFI Digital

1st Place: COMO Smoke and Fire 2nd Place: Room 38

1st Place: Anne Williams 2nd Place: Steve Erdel

TOP LOCAL TEAM BUILDING EXPERIENCE

TOP B2B PRODUCT OR SERVICE

TOP CATERER

TOP CEO

TOP SALESPERSON

TOP ADVERTISING AGENCY

1st Place: Stephanie Wilmsmeyer 2nd Place: Columbia Insurance Group

TOP COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHER TOP OFFICE DIGS

1st Place: Crockett Engineering 2nd Place: Timberlake Engineering 1st Place: Hoot Design Company 2nd Place: Visionworks Marketing Group

1st Place: Equipment Share 2nd Place: Las Margaritas

TOP PLACE TO WORK (51+ EMPLOYEES)

TOP ENGINEER

1st Place: Ann Merrifield 2nd Place: Allie Marrone Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Drain Services 573-474-2370, RotoRooter.com

2nd Place: PWArchitects

TOP NATIONAL PRESENCE

1st Place: Lanier Landscaping info@lanierlandscapingllc.com 573-795-5820 LanierLandscapingLLC.com

1st Place: Veterans United 2nd Place: CARFAX

TOP EVENT LOCATION

1st Place: Logboat Brewing Co. 2nd Place: The Roof

2nd Place: Columbia Landcare

TOP HAPPY HOUR LOCATION

TOP COMMERCIAL INTERIOR DESIGNER

1st Place: Room 38 2nd Place: Las Margaritas

1st Place: Inside the Lines 2nd Place: Scout and Nimble

BUSINESS • P EOPL E • VOIC ES • FY I

N E W BUS I N E SS L I C E N S E S

New Business Licenses FEBRUARY 2019

MidMoTix.com

Blowout Fanatic

Moon Yoga Studio

Your CBD Store

1400 Forum Blvd., Ste. 30 573-228-6102 Beauty salon

23 S. Fourth St. 573-578-5120 Yoga studio

1408 I-70 Dr. SW, Ste. 106 573-690-1392 Lotions, creams, CBD oils

Element Cryotherapy

Designs by Joanna

Chimeric Leadership

2901 W. Broadway, Ste. 115 573-489-3457 Whole body therapy

1000 N. Old 63 573-256-9939 Hair salon

Group LLC

COMO Strong

STJ Holdings LLC

4603 John Garry Dr., Ste. 17 573-999-4770 Osteoporosis treatment

2412 Forum Blvd., Ste. 102 913-231-6716 Online marketing, buy and sell tickets

Hedgehog Leatherworks LLC

Sascha L Hair

4306 Bold Venture Dr., Ste. A 314-494-4311 Leather manufacturing

1200 E. Walnut St., Ste. 201 573-777-0131 Hair salon

1109 Club Village Dr., Ste. 104 303-910-0837 Leadership coach and development Exel Inc

4600 Waco Rd. 573-474-9477 Warehouse and distribution services for Kraft MidMO Handicrafts and Minerals LLC

Boss Taco

Renee Powers-Scott

201 N. Tenth St., Ste. 101 512-363-0477 Restaurant and bar

2100 E. Broadway, Ste. 208 573-999-6537 Counseling

Attic Salt

Top Deck

2300 Bernadette Dr., Ste. 412 512-386-7220 Retail T-shirts, jewelry, and gifts

Real Estate

10 S. Eighth St., Ste. B 573-823-5595 Art and mineral retail Mitchell’s Hair Salon

19 E. Walnut St., Ste. H 573-443-3325 Real estate sales and services

D-Ice

1729 W. Broadway, Ste. 14 573-673-0496 Hair salon — no retail The Dragonfly Journey

1109 Club Village Dr., Ste. 104 573-864-1970 Wellness coach

2300 Bernadette Dr., Ste. 708 812-550-1626 Rolled ice creams, frozen snacks, and drinks

Eplan

Ashley Nails LLC

The Wireless House Two

812 Hunt Ave., Ste. 2 682-365-5324 Cosmetic nail service

2716 Paris Rd., Ste. 5 573-777-5845 Mobile cell phone sales

3312 Lemone Industrial Blvd.

573-268-0089 Stormwater research and development

Mulligan Insurance

Cedarhurst of Columbia

Show Me Optimal Health

1010 Club Village Dr., Ste. C 573-489-7912 Insurance agency

2333 Chapel Hill Rd. 214-609-3819 Senior living facility

2600 Forum Blvd., Ste. B2 360-280-6633 Massage therapy CBT

1400 Forum Blvd., Ste. 7B 573-447-7130 Online service for construction

Infiltronics Environmental LLC

You’re on the guest list.

MidMoTix is your local option for conveniently selling and purchasing tickets to events in the Mid-Missouri area.

midmo TIX FOLLOW US: Interested in learning more? Contact us at info@MidMoTix.com

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 85

B U S I N E SS • P E O P L E • VO I C E S • F Y I

DEEDS

Deeds of Trust

IF YOU’RE

READING THIS,

PRINT

IS NOT

DEAD

WORTH MORE THAN $500,526

$22,000,000

$1,363,000

$575,000

Smithview Development

AEM Diversified

Akin Properties LLC

LLC

Investments LLC

Central Bank of Boone

Central Bank of Boone

County

County

LT 48 Rollingwood SUB

STR 2-47-12 //SW SUR

Plat 2

Alliant Bank LT 2 Smithville Subdivision $15,000,000

Vancil, Joe W

20 FF TRACT 1 W/

Bank of America

EXCEPTIONS

LT 61 Valley View Gardens Plat 3 $5,600,000

Irvine Capital Management LLC The Bank of Missouri LT 1302 Oak Forest Block III Plat 13

Magazine ads provide higher comprehension and recall than any other media. And best of all, magazines show the highest return on your advertising spend. (per the National Catalina Solutions, 2016). Advertising in our magazines will yield an increase in your brand awareness, brand favorability, and purchase intent.

B u s i n e s s Ti m e s C o m p a n y.c o m

TheBusinessTimesCompany.indd 1

5/2/18 3:41 PM

TheBusinessTimesCompany.indd 1

86 APRIL 2019

5/2/18 3:41 PM

5/2/18 3:41 PM

Plat 6

Central Bank of Boone County LT 315 South Wind Plat 3

Christina A

LT 85A Meadowbrook

Central Bank of Boone

West SUB LT85 BLKA

County

LT 33 Springdale Estates Plat 2

LT 265 Mill Creek Manor Plat 4 $1,000,000

Build Taco LLC Central Bank of Boone County

$3,400,000

LT 105 Crosscreek

Homeview Developments

Center Plat 1

The Callaway Bank LT 12 Rock Quarry PUD $1,390,000

TheBusinessTimesCompany.indd 1

Sharlana K

The Callaway Bank

LLC

57 3 - 4 9 9 -1 8 3 0

LT 601 Liberty Landing

Hartman, Paul R &

LLC

Slate, Erin & Heather

Central Bank of Boone

Dinyer, Matthew J &

CMTM Properties LLC

Homeview Developments

Martin Builders Inc. County

$1,080,000

$4,000,000

$558,466

$1,363,000

$4,487,232

The Callaway Bank

CONTACT US TODAY TO BEGIN THE CONVERSATION.

BK/PG: 4965/162 AC

$823,000

$530,344

Stauffer, Grant S Trust Central Bank of Boone County LT 97 Evergreen Acres Plat 3 $506,400

Powell, Samantha B Central Bank of Boone County LT 220 Oak Park Plat 2 $500,526

Hayes, Christopher R & Alisa K Central Bank of Boone County LT 12 Grasslands SUB BLK15

Baker, Larry & Wilma J Central Bank of Boone County

Central Bank of Boone

STR 30-49-11 //SE SUR

363 deeds of trust were

County

BK/PG: 406/691 FF

issued between 1/22 and

LT 8 BL 1 Rockbridge SUB

TRACT 2

2/15 CBT

BUSINESS • P EOPL E • VOIC ES • FY I

Economic Index LABOR

HOUSING

DECEMBER 2018

JANUARY 2019 Total single-family home

We Strengthen Nonprofits

Missouri

sales: 103

Labor force: 3,043,803

Existing single-family home

Employment: 2,950,979

sales: 92

Unemployment: 92,824

New construction single-

Rate: 3 percent

family home sales: 11

For over a decade, our goal has been to increase

Single-family homes average

the effectiveness of nonprofit leaders and impact

Boone County

listing sold price: $206,012

of the organizations they serve.

Labor force: 98,566

Single-family homes median sold price: $189,000

We do this by providing a portfolio of capacity-

Employment: 96,465 Unemployment: 2,101

Single-family homes active

Rate: 2.1 percent

listings on the market: 631

Leadership Coaching and Development

Single-family homes average

Strategic Planning

days on market: 66

Board Training and Retreats

Columbia Labor force: 67,317 Employment: 65,918

Single-family homes pending listings on the market: 128

JANUARY 2019

building services including:

Strengths-Based Team Building

Facilitation of Retreats & Meetings UTILITIES FEBRUARY 2019

CONSTRUCTION

Strengthen Our Community

Skills-Based Workshops

Unemployment: 1,399 Rate: 2.1 percent

So They Can

Water

Succession Planning Executive Transition Management Organizational Capacity Building Assessment

January 2019: 49,484 January 2018: 49,112

Residential building

Change #: 372

permits: 17

Change %: 0.757

Value of residential permits:

Number of customers

$5,374,369.25

receiving service on February

Commercial additions/alter-

1, 2019: 49,533

ations: 11 Value of commercial

Electric

additions/alterations:

January 2019: 50,690

$4,484,375.12

January 2018: 50,221

Residential additions/alter-

Change #: 469

ations: 21

Change %: 0.934

Value of residential

Number of customers

additions/alterations:

receiving service on February

$1,520,352.60

1, 2019: 50,702 CBT

To learn more, visit or call:  NewChapterCoach.com |  573.228.9600 COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 87

ADVERTISER INDEX ACCOUNTING PLUS..................................................................................................... 91 ACHIEVE BALANCE.................................................................................................... 49 ADVANCED CHIMNEY TECHNIQUES................................................................... 68 ALPHA REAL ESTATE..................................................................................................75 ANTHONY JINSON PHOTOGRAPHY.......................................................................11 ANYTIME FITNESS....................................................................................................... 42 BMW OF COLUMBIA.....................................................................................................13 BOONE HOSPITAL........................................................................................................ 14 BROCKMEIER FINANCIAL SERVICES...................................................................32 COIL CONSTRUCTION.................................................................................................77 COLUMBIA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE................................................................12 COLUMBIA EDP..............................................................................................................32 CONVERGENCE FINANCIAL....................................................................................... 2 D & M SOUND................................................................................................................. 24 DELINE HOLDINGS........................................................................................................15 EDWARD JONES - KATHY LOU NEALE..............................................................40 EDWARD JONES - MARK RICHARDSON............................................................. 18 EVANS & DIXON, LLC.................................................................................................. 38 EVEXIAS.............................................................................................................................. 7 GFI DIGITAL....................................................................................................................... 3 HAWTHORN BANK...................................................................................................... 92 HEART OF MISSOURI UNITED WAY................................................................ 8 & 9 I-70 CONTAINER............................................................................................................ 18 INSIDE THE LINES........................................................................................................ 34 IRON GATE REAL ESTATE.............................................................................. 62 & 63 KLIETHERMES HOMES AND REMODELING...................................................... 69 LINDNER PROPERTIES................................................................................................ 61 MEDIACOM....................................................................................................................... 10 MERCEDES OF COLUMBIA..........................................................................................6 MIDMOTIX........................................................................................................................ 85

88 APRIL 2019

MONARCH TITLE COMPANY....................................................................................77 MY SISTER'S CIRCUS...................................................................................................32 NATHAN JONES LAW................................................................................................. 49 NAUGHT NAUGHT INSURANCE AGENCY.......................................................... 49 NEW CHAPTER COACHING......................................................................................87 PCE, INC........................................................................................................................... 65 PERSONAL TOUCH CLEANING SERVICE........................................................... 59 PROVIDENCE BANK.....................................................................................................74 PWARCHITECTS, INC.................................................................................................. 65 QUANTUM WIRELESS INTERNET.......................................................................... 59 REALTY EXECUTIVES - HEATH HIGGINS............................................................ 16 SELECT REALTY GROUP - ALISSA GERKE............................................... 70 & 71 SOCKET............................................................................................................................ 20 SPILLMAN HOMES........................................................................................................67 STANGE LAW FIRM...................................................................................................... 88 STATE FARM - PHYLLIS NICHOLS......................................................................... 54 SUPERIOR GARDEN CENTER/ROST LANDSCAPE........................................ 54 SYDENSTRICKERS........................................................................................................37 TEAM SIGNATURE REAL ESTATE GROUP..........................................................73 THE BANK OF MISSOURI.............................................................................................4 THE BROADWAY HOTEL........................................................................................... 38 THE CLUB AT OLD HAWTHORNE.........................................................................40 TIMBERLAKE ENGINEERING....................................................................................78 TLC MORTGAGE............................................................................................................ 64 TROPHY PROPERTIES & AUCTION........................................................................72 UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI HEALTH CARE.......................................................... 5 USA MORTGAGE........................................................................................................... 66 WILLIAMS KEEPERS.................................................................................................... 24 WOODRUFF GROUP....................................................................................................76

B U SINESS • P EOP L E • VOIC ES • FY I

BY T H E N U M BER S

$121 Median list price per square foot in Columbia.

54%

Source: Zillow, January 2019

285 Rental properties in Columbia.

Percentage of Columbia residents who are homeowners.

Source: Trulia, February 2019

Source: Trulia, February 2019

6.3% Percentage that home values in Columbia have increased over the past year.

Source: Zillow, January 2019

$181,200 Median home value in Columbia.

Source: Zillow, January 2019

0.5% Percentage of mortgages in Columbia that are delinquent.

Source: Zillow, January 2019

$1,200 Median rent per month in Columbia.

Source: Trulia, February 2019

B U SINESS • P EOP L E • VOIC ES • FY I

T H I S OR T H AT

REZA ABADI Regional Manager, USA Mortgage

Mac

Big Picture

Cursive

Print

Early Bird Cinema Michael Jackson Firefox 9-5 Learn At Your Desk

Flexibility Teach In a Meeting

Planner Traditional Certain Country

Save

Spend

Summer

Winter

Cat Passenger Car Ocean Optimistic Business

Dog Driver Plane Mountains Realistic Casual

Solo

Team

For Here

To-go

DISC Books

StrengthFinders Magazines

Reading

Writing

Creative

Analytical

Introvert

Extrovert

Podcast Cluttered

90 APRIL 2019

Chrome

Cake

City

acreage, and experiencing country living is definitely a big change.

The Beatles

Pie

Skeptical

1. I like to learn as much as possible so I can continue to teach more people.

2. I like to do my research before making certain decisions.

3. City. However, we recently moved to a house out of town with some

Netflix

Beer

Modern

A M E N DME N TS A N D CONDI TI ONS

Night Owl

Wine Improviser

Photo provided by Reza Abadi

PC

Details

Card Game Concept Fiction Text Soup

Playlist Minimalist Board Game Execute Nonfiction Call Sandwich

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 91

COLUMBIA BUSINESS TIMES \ 2001 CORPORATE PLACE, STE. 100 \ COLUMBIA, MO 65202