Considered an architectural gem when it was built in 1967, the time had come to modernize Modern Woodmen of America’s home office in downtown Rock Island. 

After nearly three years of construction and a shuffling of offices and 260 employees that would have impressed even the best mover, the fraternal insurance organization is celebrating the completion of its $18 million project.

Modern Woodmen will unveil the renovation with an invitation-only open house tonight for the participating contractors and artists as well as community leaders. The finished product also will be open for tours Wednesday and Thursday nights for Modern Woodmen employees and their families.

Over the past 34 months, crews have installed a new heating and air conditioning system — building a new 20,000-square-foot penthouse on the roof to house the mechanicals. The work also included window replacement, new lighting and replacement of carpeting, wall coverings and office furniture.

Achieving space and energy efficiency in the 37-year-old building at 1701 1st Ave. were among the driving forces of the project, said Clyde Schoeck, Modern Woodmen’s president.

“We’ve done a tremendous job of keeping up the building,” he said. But with the new technology and materials available today as well as the company’s changing space needs, Modern Woodmen realized the time had come for a major update.

The end result is a work environment with present-day conveniences that is efficient and comfortable for the almost 270 employees who work in the main office. Modern Woodmen employs a total of 460 people at its different home office operations in Rock Island. In addition, it has 1,600 full- and part-time representatives across the country.

“The best comparison I can make is it is like going from using a telephone with two tin cans and string … to a completely computerized system,” Modern Woodmen National Secretary Gerry Odean said of the renovation. “The best part is it was not only on time, but under budget.”

The construction of the new penthouse allowed the company to house new energy-efficient, computer-controlled HVAC systems on the roof. That freed up about half of the fifth floor, where the previous boilers and chillers had been located, for office expansion.

With an eye toward energy efficiency, the project also included replacement of 700 original single-pane windows with new thermal windows. So far, the changes have yielded a 20 percent savings in energy costs.

Krause-Anderson Construction Co. of Minneapolis served as the construction manager. Flad & Associates of Madison, Wis., provided the architectural, structural and interior design; and Affiliated Engineers, Madison, was responsible for mechanical and electrical design.

Local contractors included Cassini Tile & Marble Co. and Crawford Co., both of Rock Island, and Tri-City Electric and Ryan & Associates, both of Davenport.

The renovation is the first major construction project for Modern Woodmen since 1995 when it completed its West Addition, the building next to the main office. “What was done in the West Addition set a new standard as far as office environment,” Odean said, adding that the recent work brings the main office up to the same standards.

“We want our people to enjoy coming to work here,” Schoeck said. In fact as work stations were being designed, he said the goal was to provide as much of a view of the Mississippi River as possible.

Planning for the building renovation was launched in 2000 with the actual construction work beginning about a year later in July 2001.

Odean, who chaired the building renovation committee, said it was a long 34 months. Having also led the construction of Modern Woodmen’s West Addition in 1995 and its nearby Printing and Shipping Center in 1986, he said it is much easier to build a brand new building than renovate an existing one — especially while still operational.

At one time or another, 260 Modern Woodmen employees were moved around to accommodate the renovations, he said. The public relations and fraternal departments moved out of the building altogether for three years to offices in the nearby National City Bank building, which is owned by Modern Woodmen.

The fifth floor, where the mechanicals had been, served as a transition floor throughout construction, Odean said. Different departments and floors would relocate to that floor while their own area was renovated.

“But we were careful to preserve everything we could,” Odean said. In one area, crews removed the Tavertine marble from a wall, moved the wall itself and then replaced the original marble. In some cases, they were able to reuse furniture or find a new use for it.

“I think this shows our real commitment to downtown Rock Island,” Schoeck said. “The renovation positions us for future growth to better serve our more than 750,000 members nationwide.”

Since 1995, Modern Woodmen has added 100 employees to its Rock Island operation. The growth included 48 new employees in 2001 who are associated with the expansion of its member service center and the addition of a broker-dealer and a banking subsidiary. The service center — a call center — handles, on average, 1,500 calls a day.

The building gained a 54-seat classroom and additional meeting rooms as well as more office space by reconfiguring space. With the work complete, there is 10,000 square feet of available office space on fifth floor that will allow for future growth.

In addition to the craftsmanship of local trades workers, the building also is a showcase for the work of several regional artists. Working with Quad-City Arts, Modern Woodmen added 51 new pieces to its original collection. The building now is an art gallery of more than 102 paintings and sculptures.