Sharp additions:

Office of Terry Sharp growing to meet demand

By PAUL LORENZ

MT. VERNON REGISTER-NEWS-

January 14-15, 2006 

    At one time, it was a four-bedroom home. Later, it was home to an architect firm.  For the last 30-some years, the building at 1115 Harrison St. has been home to a law firm.  And even though the law firm's property now includes the building at 1117 Harrison St. as well, attorney Terry Sharp decided it was time to create some more space.  "Some rooms are too big, some are too small," Sharp said. "There are lots of things that are inefficient about the building, and we've outgrown it."  Sharp hopes to be moved into the 6,375-square-foot addition sometime in February, he said.

     Earlier this week, workers on the project were starting to hang sheet rock, said Steve Wheeler, construction superintendent.  Elsewhere, wiring and insulation were being installed.  The addition's interior will feature an "industrial look," with all the inside truss work exposed, Wheeler said.  "That opens it up, makes it look big," he said.  The onetime home at 1115 Harrison has six levels, including the basement, narrow hallways and several congested areas, according to information provided by Sharp's office. 

    The firm  employs 17 people, including three attorneys.  "There are a couple of choke points in this building where we have a near collision every day," Sharp said. "You can't get the work done if you're cramped up."  The addition will include five conference rooms of various sizes. The exterior decor matches the original building.

    Sharp's law firm bought the building in 1975. In the firm's early days, he said, the upstairs space was rented to other tenants. The former drafting area on the building's east side was not used initially, but in the late '70s it was converted into a doctor's office with a separate entrance, Sharp said.  Later, the doctor's office space was renovated to make four conference rooms, a lobby and break area for the law firm.  When Sharp acquired the building next door, the firm remodeled it and moved its real estate department there, he said.

    Another key need for the law firm, he said, was handicapped accessibility. The building at 1115 Harrison has no handicapped accessibility; the building at 1117 Harrison has limited accessibility.  Sharp's project is the second addition to the property. Wilson, Hodge & Groh, the architect firm once housed there, built a 2,000-square-foot ground-floor addition to the house, he said.

    One other feature of the addition, Sharp points out, is a technology room which will house the firm's computer server, phone system, background music "and whatever else will be invented in the next 20 years."

Used by permission of Paul Lorenz of The Mt. Vernon Register News

For More Information Contact:

The Sharp Law Firm, P.C.
1115 Harrison Street, Mt. Vernon, IL 62864
Tel: 618-242-0246
FAX: 618-242-1170
Internet: webmaster@lotsharp.com