The new look at Kingdom City's town hall is rooted in a familiar source.
"Kerry Renner was the original architect for this building," City Manager-Clerk Curtis Warfield said. "We contacted him about the renovations, and pretty much told him 'undo everything you did.' He also helped us visualize and put to paper our ideas."
Beginning last August, the town hall's lobby was fitted with a new board table, new offices were constructed and the conference room was expanded as part of a $106,000 update to the building's facilities. The construction was mostly completed in November.
Renner, who helped design the original Tourism Center which became the town hall, has been an architect since 1973. He said the idea was to make the interior of the hall usable, while keeping some of the original inspiration.
"The main objective was to give them office space, which they needed, while still trying to maintain the original design," he said.
"We didn't want to butcher it up too bad, and maintain the openness."
Many of the renovation's color and material choices came from the hall's wood paneling.
"Because of the cherry paneling, we ended up going with cherry doors, trim, and cabinets to complement what was already there," Renner said.
He said he was glad for the opportunity to work with a space he originally designed.
"It's always good, and certainly a lot better than having it torn down or completely changed," he said. "It's nice to be able to do that."
All in all, Renner is satisfied with how the renovations turned out.
"The client was happy," he said, "and we were able to get them what they wanted at a reasonable price."
The renovated Town Hall, which used to house the Heart of Missouri Tourism Center, is now completely dedicated to the local government's needs.
"We needed to change the space to fit the scope of what we do," Warfield said. "We had to make it usable."
Tourism-related materials are still available but have been regulated to a designated corner of the hall.