The Masonic Temple Building in downtown Callaway is getting a face lift and a new lease on life, thanks to a need for more office space in town.
Adam Bailey is the Director of Business Development for Coordinated Development, a strategic solutions firm out of Elkhorn, NE that provides financial and retirement planning, insurance, and investments. However, his wife and family live in Callaway, so he splits his time between the Omaha Metro area and small central Nebraska town.
Bailey had originally set up an office in the building between what is now Sand Creek Bar and the former Shotgun Annie’s Saloon. However, when Callaway District Hospital needed a place to house traveling nurses, the search was for a new space to work from.
While he considered putting up a metal building on an empty lot in town, Bailey ended up working a deal with the local Masonic Lodge to purchase their historic downtown building. According to Bailey, it ended up being a much bigger project than anticipated.
“When we got in, all the flooring was bad as we had to tear that out all the way down to the dirt in the basement. And then obviously all electrical had to be redone, all of the, heating, air, ventilation, plumbing, water, rain,” said Bailey. “We thought the bricks were good. Turns out they actually leaked because the mortar was so old that when water would come down the side of the building, it would seep in.”
Progress is being made though, and the end of construction is nearly in sight. Already three of the four office suites in the renovated building are spoken for, with one space already occupied.
Along with Bailey’s Callaway office for Coordinated Development, the building will house offices for Callaway grocer Lawrence Paulsen and Central Nebraska Economic Development District Executive Director Carla Kimball. A small kitchen and break room, private conference space, and room for reception in front are also provided for.
A fourth office space remains available to be rented.
In addition to re-building the interior, work on the exterior of one of the tallest and oldest buildings in Callaway will provide an updated awning and full-sized plate windows. On the inside, the windows will be cased in black walnut from a tree cut down locally.
What started as a project to fix the sidewalk in front of the Masonic Temple Building turned into a civic-improvement program replacing the sidewalk along the entire block, with the expenses split between building owners and the Village of Callaway.
Bailey was quick to praise work done by local contractors as well. Ed Lashley of Red Fern Electric, TJ Elliot of Elliot Plumbing and contractors Justin Mason and Doug Brestel “went above and beyond” in their work bringing the building up-to-date according to Bailey.
Although in the end it may have been easier and less expensive to put up a metal building, Bailey said he was thrilled with the space he has created. With the work that has been put into the structure, he expects that it should last another hundred years.
