Lorenzo Lawson wants the Youth Empowerment Zone program to keep growing, and he thinks a new location on Rogers Street will help do that.

The not-for-profit has leased space at 1204 Rogers St. from Kerry Bramon, who owns the building with brother Greg and their father, Gerald. Kerry Bramon Remodeling & Design is located in the building as well as Sergel Music Studio and Platinum Salon.

Youth Empowerment Zone is moving into two-thirds of the space that was vacated by former tenant Whitewater Laundry, which moved out about six months ago, Kerry Bramon said. (Vanessa Leitza, manager of Splasher’s Laundry, said equipment from Whitewater was moved to Splasher’s in the Hathman Village shopping center. Both laundries are owned by James Hundle.)

Lawson, executive director of Youth Empowerment Zone, said he had been looking for locations closer to his target clientele - at-risk youths who mostly live in Columbia’s First Ward. The program previously had space at Parkade Center.

"It is more conducive for" youths "to get to this location," Lawson said. "We work with young people who primarily come from economically depressed situations. Now, we’re a block and a half from the bus station and near Douglass and Hickman" high schools "and Columbia Housing Authority property."

Lawson said the goal of Youth Empowerment Zone, founded in 2004, is expressed in the program’s name: It seeks to empower youths who have been in the court system or have dropped out of school to learn life skills and find employment. Its six employees provide job-readiness training and help clients complete job applications as well as prepare and practice for interviews.

Lawson said he and Bramon are members of the Downtown Optimist Club (Bramon is president of the group) and that is how they learned of their mutual space needs - Bramon to lease the empty space and Lawson to find a more central location.

"Kerry wanted to offer the space, and it turned out to be excellent for us," Lawson said.

Arnie Fagan of ARG! Commercial Real Estate is the leasing agent and handled the transaction.

Youth Empowerment Zone is occupying temporary offices on the second floor of 1204 Rogers St. as Bramon prepares to remodel its 1,800-square-foot space.

"We’re designing it just for them," Bramon said, noting the space would have offices, a reception area, classrooms and a lounge.

Lawson said the new location will provide a little more space than the Parkade Center location, but the real benefit is having room to grow. He has the option of expanding into the remaining one-third of the Whitewater space.

"We are currently kind of keeping the young people we serve at a minimum, but if we can get some more funding, then we can hire another case manager, then we’ll be expanding pretty soon," Lawson said. "We’ve got young people who are wanting our services, but we are not able serve them now."

Lawson said he is eyeing future partnerships with the Columbia Chamber of Commerce, the University of Missouri and the Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts to help support a youth entrepreneur program and a fine arts program.

The new space "is a perfect match for us," Lawson said. "We are very, very thankful for Kerry. He’s stepping up to the plate and donating a lot of time and effort and even finances to help us get into this space."

BUILDING WOODS

Kevin Kearns, co-owner of the North Woods development at the southeast corner of Smiley Lane and Highway 763, is determined to land a grocer for his project.

A couple of years ago, North Woods owner ALL LLC - which Kearns owns with Dave Dunafon - had a deal with Fulton grocer Roger Moser, but Moser abandoned plans to build there after the Columbia City Council voted down his plan because of the height of light poles for the parking lot. Now, Moser is building at the Auburn Hills commercial development, which is north of North Woods at Range Line Street and Brown School Road.

Kearns said he is talking with a couple of grocers, and he and Dunafon are trying to determine which would be a better fit. Kearns said both grocers expressed interest in a 40,000-square-foot space, so later this summer, construction will begin on a 60,000-square-foot building that could accommodate a grocery store and have an additional 20,000 square feet of leasable retail space.

Meanwhile, construction should begin soon on American Plaza, a 10,400-square-foot retail/office building on 1.29 acres at the northeast corner of Range Line and American Parkway.

SMILEY FACE

The Wal-Mart Supercenter in Moberly recently had a 12-week makeover, according to a news release.

The remodeling project included a new Southwest-inspired paint scheme, updated signage and a new layout. Environmentally friendly changes included adding motion-sensor lighting at freezer cases and in non-sales areas as well as skylights and LED lighting.

The store opened in 1974. It moved in 1995, expanding to a Supercenter at its current site, 1301 Highway 24 E. The store has about 325 employees, including two who have worked there since the store opened. Teresa Stackhouse is the store manager.

QUICKIES

Boone Hospital Center is moving its IT facility to a new 12,000-square-foot space on Falling Leaf Court. Kyle Sheafer, director of marketing and public relations for Boone Hospital, said 40 employees will make the move in the coming months from the current facility in Hillcrest Hall at Broadway and William Street in the coming months. The facility oversees computer systems at the hospital. ... The Boone County Industrial Development Authority is accepting proposals for its 2008 grant program, according to a news release. The grants are for economic development projects that benefit Boone County with an emphasis on job creation. The authority is accepting proposals from not-for-profit and governmental organizations. The postmark deadline is July 31. For information, visit BooneCountyIDA.org. ... Roots Nouveau Salon is moving from 518 E. Broadway to 111 E. Walnut St., Suite C. The salon, owned by Tim Root, is scheduled to open at the new location Monday. ... AchieveBalance Chiropractic opened this week at 3901 S. Providence Road, Suite C. The business is owned by Arminta Phelps.

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