O’Reilly Center for Hope
This project involved transforming a vacant elementary school into a community hub and office complex for the Community Partnership of the Ozarks’ Affordable Housing & Homeless Prevention program and partner agencies from across the area. After touring numerous existing facilities across the City to find the new home for what is now the O’Reilly Center for Hope, we finally landed on the former Pepperdine Elementary School, which had been sitting unoccupied for several years. This project became a fusion of historic restoration and adaptive reuse. Paragon’s design team was able to save many of the structure’s historic features while making the building accessible. The existing facility was chosen in part for its central location and accessibility to public transit.
The former Pepperdine Elementary School building was extensively remodeled and adapted across three phases. Originally constructed in 1919, and added onto in 1929, 1963 and 1987, the first project phase included abatement and remediation prior to any new construction. Phase two of the construction project included extensive site work including a new parking lot, utility, and service upgrades; masonry tuckpointing and repair; a new roof for the original 1919 structure; all new high-efficiency HVAC equipment; upgrades to the electrical, plumbing, and fire suppression systems; and restroom, shower room, and laundry facility additions. Phase three construction completed the facility with interior office build-out, community spaces, and the addition of an elevator to provide accessibility to all levels of the facility.
The goal was to provide a new home for the Affordable Housing Center (renamed the O’Reilly Center for Hope) and allow for better, expanded coordination with community partners. With this newly renovated facility, the organization has more than double the amount of office and service space that they did before, and housing and homeless services are now centralized in the heart of an under-served community.
