Adaptive reuse: Cape County's administrative building began as a Coke bottling plant

A look back on the history of the building at 1 Barton Square in Jackson reveals its many faces, from Coca-Cola bottling plant to administrative office space.

For a time, until the late 1980s, the entire block featured two buildings used by Coca-Cola for offices and production, a garage to repair company vehicles and a house. It was sold to the county in May 1985, after sitting on the market for about two years. The main building was constructed about 50 years before it was turned over to the county.

The company had made multiple offers to the county before an agreement was reached. County officials at the time were unwilling to accept the asking price of $485,000 because of the many renovations the property would require. The property ultimately was purchased for $350,000, according to reports by the Southeast Missourian at the time, although the overall project cost was north of $1 million.

Once the county decided to purchase the building, it brought to a close a five-year struggle by commissioners to solve the county's worsening space problem. Most of the county offices were in the Jackson courthouse.

"All structures presently located on this property will be demolished with the exception of the main bottling facility," former presiding commissioner Gene Huckstep said in a May 21, 1985, article. "This three-story building will be more than adequate to meet the county's present needs and the needs of the county for many years to come."

Teri Keith with Metro Title looks through a book of deeds Thursday at the Cape Girardeau County Administrative Offices in Jackson. (Laura Simon)

Huckstep was correct. Since 1987 -- the year the county officially moved in -- nearly all county offices have been housed there.

The bottom floor features the departments of information technology and emergency management. Getting to the back of the emergency management offices requires some maneuvering between desks and filing cabinets. That's where the radio room is. As its namesake suggests, the area contains radios, as well as multiple spiral-cord phones, a monitor hooked up to a rooftop camera to observe oncoming weather and a switchboard capable of activating county weather warning sirens.

The lowest level of the building also houses the equipment room, where a generator and heating and cooling systems are kept. While components of the systems have been repaired or replaced over the years, Associate Commissioner Charlie Herbst said the units overall remain from 1987. It's not the most efficient system, he added, but the county tries to work with what it has.

"It is what it is," Herbst said. "You try to maintain things the best you can."

The back half of the floor sees most of its use during elections. A large meeting area is the space where candidates and spectators gather to watch as vote totals for each precinct are posted. Beyond that is the election center, where the county clerk's staff works on election night, closed off from the public. Several blue lockers occupy most of the space, allowing those entering the room one-at-a-time access.

Many rooms in the building are in a similar state -- there's enough room for employees to execute required tasks, but there's little or no room for expansion.

Information technology director Eric McGowen said expansion needs have begun to affect some county offices more than others, including the county clerk.

"As more and more things have been added to the election process, it becomes harder and harder to keep up with so many things in such a small space," he said.

Upstairs, on the main floor, the recorder of deeds office keeps pretty busy, recorder Drew Blattner said. People come throughout the week to conduct research, primarily searching through land transaction records. The office also is responsible for issuing marriage licenses, which brings in plenty of customers.

Remaining offices on the main level of the building include the highway department, mapping and appraisal and the assessor's office. The office for Presiding Commissioner Clint Tracy and Associate Commissioner Paul Koeper also can be found there, although Herbst's office is on the top floor, adjacent to the commission chambers where meetings are held.

The entrance to the building offers one of the best examples of the issues that sometimes come from repurposing a building.

In front of the main door, off Barton Street, the county more than once has had to stabilize the sinking floor. It rests over a ramp used by the bottling plant for truck access and was leveled with dirt, which settled, leaving a depression below the floor. While a long, brown rug hides most of the marks on the floor left from the tool used to pump concrete underneath, some still are visible.

One of the most frequently used offices on the top floor is the collector's office, found in the back of the building. During tax season, people frequently travel back and forth from that office and the assessor's office downstairs. Herbst said county officials are aware of the inconvenience, and should the county move to another building, offices would be arranged better for customer use.

On the outside, it's difficult to guess an old brick building hides under the pale exterior built around it in 1987. A fresh coat of paint added a few years ago keeps up appearances as well, Herbst added. Decades-old remnants remain on the inside, but the commissioner said the county has worked hard to make facilities fit customer and employee needs.

"I think on the surface of all these [county] buildings -- this building and the courthouses -- the building on the surface, aesthetically, look pretty clean for what they are," Herbst said. "... They've been maintained and cleaned the best way we can."

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641