MU building demolition plan begins Wednesday, some students fighting for historic building to stay

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been corrected to reflect that MU is no longer planning to sell Mizzou North.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Mizzou officials announced Wednesday, the first phase of their demolition plan, which will remove nine buildings and other structures from the campus, has begun

Officials say the demolition will benefit the university, as millions of dollars saved will be invested back into students' education and research programs.

"We have two, London and Lobe hall we have already started fencing the buildings off so we are already in that process," Christian Basi, university spokesman said.

Several buildings such as Parker, Read, Loeb, and London halls will be demolished. Mizzou North will be torn down, as well.

"We realized we have millions of dollars in deferred maintenance, we started reviewing to determine do we actually need the buildings on campus, or can we put people in a better space that's been made more efficient for use," Basi said.

The university will save more than $93 million in repair and maintenance work and more than $2.5 million in annual operating costs.

And while several of the buildings should be torn down for safety reasons, one building has some Mizzou students fighting for it to stay.

"Read Hall is ready to be saved it doesn't need to be demolished there is again absolutely money there to do the operations on it needed," Katherine Hutinett, a first-year history masters student said.

Hutinett is one of three women at the university leading the save Read Hall movement on campus. Jordan Pellerito and Bailey Martin are the other two students involved.

Hutinett said the university has neglected to keep up with the maintenance needed.

The group's petition has over 3,000 signatures.

"In this neglect of maintenance in the past 20 years or so they have led to what is now a disservice to the Mizzou community," Hutinett said.

Read Hall has historical significance in the state.

Read Hall was the first dorm for women on campus. In 1918 it was a flu hospital. Read Hall was also the first student center, and the first home to the Maneater, the first journalism school in the world. In 1942 Eleanor Roosevelt spoke about the importance of student unions at Read Hall.

The maintenance cost to fix Read Hall is around $4.5 million dollars.

Hutinett said alumni have raised over $5 million for repairs, but the university says it will cost them millions to maintain, millions that they could invest back into students' education.

"A lot of time energy and thought went into these decisions, and we do feel at that at the end of the day we are going to be able to provide more money for the priorities of the university," Basi said.

The buildings will be replaced with green spaces for students to relax and enjoy the outdoor space.