Insurance building's renovation part of Coalter family's commitment to region

The new Coalter Insurance Group building at 1001 Independence St. in Cape Girardeau is one of several projects on Jason Coalter's plate, and it's one that holds special significance to him and his family.

Coalter, with Dustin Richardson, owns Centurion Development LLC in Cape Girardeau. Centurion specializes in commercial and residential projects, but for Coalter, his primary interest is in showing what a property can be.

The building at 1001 Independence is a prime example.

Coalter said the building has undergone many changes since it first was built, housing businesses including a bakery and a hair shop, until it became the family's insurance business.

Coalter's father, Ted Coalter, began the business in 1985. When Ted Coalter died in 2012, Jason Coalter said the family, including his mother, Debbie Coalter, and sister, Laura Coalter Parker, took a good look at the business model and their various interests.

"We wanted [the building] to represent more of who we are," Coalter said.

Besides that, the building means something to the family, he said. It's in the older part of Cape Girardeau, what he called the "root" of the city.

"We want to carry on my father's legacy of commitment to the community, along with expanding our product offerings," Coalter continued.

"We very easily could have bulldozed it and gone somewhere else, but we're committed to the area," he said.

Laura Coalter Parker agreed.

"My dad was a huge supporter of Old Town Cape," she said. When a new partner for the agency, Michael Siebert, was brought on in March, "we knew the building needed a full renovation, or we needed to look for another location," she said.

As a family, Parker said, they thought about what their father would have wanted.

"It was something to do and maybe plant a seed for other businesses to maybe do that, too," Parker said of the renovation.

She said that kind of revitalization can be contagious and give neighbors the confidence to invest in their property because they see it happening around them.

Planning originally started in February, Parker said, and reconstruction started about June.

Now, after months of gutting and rebuilding the property, Parker said they're looking at moving back in two to three weeks.

Coalter Insurance Group is temporarily housed at 2845 Independence St., Parker said, but it's planning its move the weekend before New Year's Eve.

"My dad's dream was to fully expand into all lines of insurance, and that's what we did this year," Parker said.

Her father also built The Printing Co. in Cape Girardeau, which Jason Coalter still owns, although he said his primary focus is the building renovation.

A major project in the works is an apartment building at 142-148 Lorimier St. in Cape Girardeau, near William Street.

The building was gutted and is being rebuilt, with new windows recently installed and the brick walls' mortar re-done.

When complete, it will have 12 units, Coalter said.

It's been a long road to renovate the structure, he said.

"You run into things you didn't expect, or you have a lot of irons in the fire," Coalter said.

But it's rewarding to see the property taking shape, he said.

Coalter said he hopes to start pre-leasing the apartments in the next 90 to 120 days.

Other projects are in early stages, Coalter said, but it's part of the overall strategy to improve buildings that have been neglected over the years.

Centurion is continually renovating houses, Coalter said, and are rebuilding some warehouse space. They also have expanded into more commercial real estate in the last 12 to 24 months, he said.

"Obviously we've diversified a lot in our portfolio, projects and properties outside the downtown area," Coalter said. "It's certainly where a lot of our heart is, and the more that our organization sees the city and other citizens put forth effort and investment in those areas, we're going to make sure we're continuing to do our part."

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

Pertinent address:

1001 Independence st., Cape Girardeau, Mo.

142-148 Lorimier St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.