Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, founders of the Unity spiritual movement now headquartered at Unity Village, were not Unitarians as some mistakenly suppose.</p><p>But make no mistake; they were utilitarians, as evidenced by what&#x92;s hidden inside the iconic Unity Tower.</p><p>Completed in 1929 and set to undergo $3 million in renovations, the 165-foot tower encloses a 100,000-gallon, 29-foot-high tank that provides water and water pressure to the entire Unity World Headquarters at Unity Village campus. At 4 p.m. Sept. 8, Unity campus employees and guests will participate in a ceremony to bless the upcoming renovation project, which will begin in November under the oversight of Tom Lee, manager of facilities administration for the campus.</p><p>According to Lee, a $3 million gift from an anonymous donor last spring will allow contractors to update the tower&#x92;s elevator, which was purchased used in 1929; make repairs to its spiral staircase; reopen the tower and an observation deck near its peak to the public; and make exterior repairs.</p><p>The ceremony to bless the repairs will take place outside the chain-link fencing that currently surrounds the tower to protect passersby from falling chunks of stucco. Due to mounting structural problems, the tower was closed to the public in 2005.</p><p>A landmark visible for miles, the tower looms over the Unity campus&#x92;s sprawling fountains, which stretch the entire length of its central courtyard and were restored last fall thanks to a fundraising effort that netted more than $4 million from 4,000 donors.</p><p>Another utilitarian feature, the fountains were built for the dual purpose of beautifying the campus and providing air conditioning to its buildings.</p><p>In keeping with that spirit of maximum utility, the Unity Tower is expected to be put to extra usage, as well.</p><p>Last month, the Unity board of directors approved plans for a second tower-renovation phase, which has yet to be priced or funded. It will allow the vacant interiors of the tower&#x92;s second through seventh floors to be transformed into about 5,500 square feet of space to be leased to holistic healing arts practitioners, Lee said.</p><p>The seventh floor, located directly under the water tank and its massive concrete substructure, is expected to be refurbished as a studio for yoga and other activities incorporating mind, body and spirit, Lee said.</p><p>Previously, the seventh floor served as an office for the late Rickert Fillmore, a son of the Unity founders and friend of Country Club Plaza developer J.C. Nichols. </p><p>Like Nichols, Rickert Fillmore fell in love with Mediterranean architecture during his travels and brought his design ideas back to the land near Lee&#x92;s Summit that would become home to the Unity movement.</p><p>In 1929, the Unity Tower and the original Silent Unity 24-7 prayer ministry building (now the Unity Education Building) were constructed as the first two buildings on the Unity Village campus. The buildings were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.</p><p>Built using limestone quarried from the grounds of Unity Village, the Unity Tower also serves as a campanile, with eight horn-driven speakers that sound on the hour. Over the decades, the tower also has housed a welcome center, post office, credit union, radio and television studios, and other functions.</p><p>&#x93;Unity Village master planner Rickert Fillmore &#x85; saw the tower as a symbol for universal supply,&#x94; said Charlotte Shelton, president and CEO of Unity. &#x93;Our vision is that the tower will one day become a symbol for wellness of mind, body and spirit and the home of a world-class holistic healing center.&#x94;</p><p>The design-build team working on the tower&#x92;s first-phase restoration project is being led by Susan Richards Johnson & Associates Inc., a Kansas City architectural firm specializing in historic restoration projects. A.L. Huber of Overland Park, Kan., will serve as general contractor.</p><p>The first-phase repairs are expected to be completed in early 2013.