Two uptown Jackson buildings get facelifts

Storefront vacancies in the uptown Jackson are about to increase by two. But if Bob Schooley has his way, they won’t stay vacant for long.

Renovations at 105 and 107 E. Adams St. are nearly complete, and the properties soon will be available for rent.

Schooley, a real-estate agent with Realty One Associates and president of the Uptown Jackson Revitalization Program, bought the properties from First Baptist Church of Jackson.

Because uptown Jackson has a low vacancy rate — businesses want to join the community, but there isn’t space available — Schooley met with the church, hoping to convince them to bring the properties back up to rental quality.

At the time, both properties were being used as storage for the church.

A German newspaper, Deutscher Volksfreund, was doing business at 105 E. Adams St. before 1918.Submitted photo

“They were more interested in selling them than being property managers,” Schooley said. “So I decided to take a leap and do it myself.”

Enlisting the services of a contractor, Schooley has been renovating the commercial properties to make them rentable.

“I would love to see both properties used for retail,” Schooley said. “There’s a need for retail in uptown. There’s a need for restaurants.”

The property at 107 E. Adams St. was built in the early 1920s and has seen a variety of uses over the years, Schooley said.

A CrossFit gym, a tanning salon and a photo studio took up residence there at one time or another, and evidence of those businesses remain in the walls and the wiring.

The renovations involved repainting what is believed to be the original metal ceiling and crown molding. The plumbing has been replaced, and new lighting fixtures were installed.

“It wasn’t in terrible shape. All the bones were good,” Schooley said.

Schooley said he would like to see the property used as a coffee shop and bakery. The demand exists, he said.

“We did focus groups up here with the DREAM Initiative, and there was almost unanimous desire for a coffee shop/bakery,” he said.

The property at 105 E. Adams St. is built more like an office space than the boutique next door. In its recent history, it was a day care and a scrapbooking store.

When it was built in 1897 by Frederick Kies, it held the German-language newspaper Deutscher Volksfreund.

Since that time, a facade was built in front of the original storefront.

Schooley hopes to remove the addition one day and see what remains of the facade. But that would be an expensive endeavor, he said.

Schooley installed a new HVAC system and is preparing to lay new flooring.

Businesses moving into those two spaces would join the main corridor of uptown Jackson, Schooley said.

“As you come down High Street, 90 percent of folks turn left and come down Adams Street. Especially with the roundabout, this is the main drag,” he said.

Both properties are expected to be completed by July, Schooley said.

bbrown@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

Pertinent address:

105 and 107 E. Adams Street, Jackson MO