Columbia City Council to vote on $8.1 million sale of former IBM building to Veterans United on Feb. 19
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Columbia City Council will vote on the sale of the former IBM/Kyndryl Building to Veterans United at its Feb. 19 meeting, according to a Monday press release from the city.
A first reading took place at Monday night’s meeting. The building – located at 2810 LeMone Industrial Boulevard – is an office building that is owned by the city, the release states. The 93,000-square-foot facility includes more than eight hundred cubical spaces, nine conference rooms, a kitchen, a cafeteria, a large storm shelter, a 32-seat training room and 721 parking spaces, according to previous reporting.
The city began looking for a new business to either buy or lease the building in November. The Monday release stated Veterans United’s $8.1 million bid was “determined to be the proposal that would best further the mission of economic development in the community.“
The bid includes Veterans United receiving a $710,884.60 credit to repair hail damage to the roof and gutters. Veterans United is the largest private employer in Columbia, the release states.
According to previous reporting, the city first purchased the building in 2010 in an effort to recruit IBM into Columbia. They were successful in doing so, but in 2021 IBM split into two companies. Kyndryl then took over as the employer in Columbia. Kyndryl’s lease expired on Oct. 31.
