This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.

Loomis: AOA headquarters renovation on time, on budget

Add topic to email alerts

Receive an email when new articles are posted on

Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on .

Subscribe

Added to email alerts

You've successfully added to your alerts. You will receive an email when new content is published.

Click Here to Manage Email Alerts

You've successfully added to your alerts. You will receive an email when new content is published.

Click Here to Manage Email Alerts

Back to Healio

We were unable to process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this issue please contact customerservice@slackinc.com.

Back to Healio

BOSTON – AOA President Steven A. Loomis, OD, updated the House of Delegates, here at Optometry’s Meeting, on the ongoing renovations to the association’s headquarters building in St. Louis.

“If you can recall, our building in St. Louis was kind of a mess. It was built the same year Nixon became president, I think...and it started to resemble his administration,” Loomis joked.

Steven A. Loomis

He stressed the importance of the AOA’s duty to look at all available options, shown through their work to develop a committee to decide whether renovation, building new or purchasing a building and renovating was most cost effective.

The committee decided it was most cost effective to keep the large 47,000 sq. ft. building and make renovations.

The total renovation is budgeted for $10.25 million; the AOA has paid $2.25 million, and the remaining balance of $8 million is being financed at 4% over 15 years, which translates into an annual payment of $715,000/year, Loomis explained.

Currently, construction on the south side is finished, and the north side is being worked on. To handle both construction logistics and simultaneously allowing the AOA staff to continue working in the building, a wall was built in the middle, and all staff who were on the south side were moved to the north side. In April, the staff moved into the new part of the building, and now the other side is being torn down, Loomis explained.

Loomis credited Ryan Hayes, AOA chief financial officer, and Renee Brauns, associate executive director, with orchestrating the logistics of the move and facilitating business as usual.

He asked members to make an investment in the new project, with various naming opportunities available throughout the new St. Louis building and in the Washington office, he said. – Abigail Sutton

Reference :

Loomis S. House of Delegates: St. Louis Renovation Report. Presented at: Optometry’s Meeting; June 29 – July 2, 2016; Boston.