Business Loop 70 CID looks ahead to Mizzou North demolition
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The executive director of the Loop CID says she thinks there is potential for the land that houses Mizzou North.
The University of Missouri Board of Curators met Thursday and approved a $10 million plan to demolish the building, which sits on Business Loop 70.
“We knew it was coming. It is sad we are losing a great building on the street,” Executive Director of the Loop CID Carrie Gartner said. “Looking forward though, that property is pushing 30 acres and it’s on a great street, it’s adjacent to I-70 and there’s so much potential there.”
Mizzou North used to house CoMo Cooks Shared Kitchen. The Loop and REDI partnered up to create the space for local food businesses.
“CoMo Cooks Shared kitchen was located in the old hospital kitchen. It was a great way to start up this kitchen very quickly and Mizzou was a great help on that but we have moved and we are constructing a new kitchen right across the street,so hopefully it will be just fine for us,” Gartner said.
University leaders say the building would have needed more than $55 million of work. Instead, the university chose to use campus funds to demolish it.
The project will include removing any hazardous materials before the demolition.
“There are very strict federal guidelines for things like this and the University of Missouri has faced this when they did reconstruction on some of their older buildings on campus, so we are confident they are going to follow these rules and it’ll be fine,” Gartner said.
The university said it hopes to recycle at least 50% of the non-hazardous material taken from the building.
The project is slated for completion by January 2024. The university hasn’t said what it plans for the property.
“I don't know what MU has planned but I think if we really look at it, we can really have a development there that adds to the street rather than detracts from it,” Gartner said.
