Mid-Missouri Red Cross chapter plans for new headquarters in Columbia
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Red Cross chapter serving Mid-Missouri is planning to build a new facility in south Columbia.
Rebecca Gordon, executive director of the Central and Northern Missouri chapter, said the new building on South Providence Road will serve as the nonprofit's headquarters for its service area. The chapter covers 27 counties, stretching from the Iowa border to Fort Leonard Wood.
The Red Cross applied for a permit to build a new facility near the Veterans United campus. The nearly 14,000-square-foot building will go on the future Stellar Drive. The Odle-backed Mid-Am Development is still building out the business district there. Gordon did not have a timeline yet on when it might be built.
Gordon said the new headquarters will give the chapter more space for its work across Mid-Missouri, including blood donations, First Aid training and an expanded space for its humanitarian services. Gordon said the organization's lease with the University of Missouri at its current building on Providence Road near Faurot Field was coming up. That prompted them in 2023 to consider what to do next.
"When we first built that building 40 years ago, 50 years ago, it was set up very differently for our current needs," Gordon said. "We're really looking forward to really being able to put a 2025 stamp on the way that the American Red Cross serves our communities now."
Gordon said she hopes the new building will allow them to host more training sessions on-site. The Red Cross provides classes on things like CPR and AED use, which often requires them to go elsewhere to set up.
"Right now we have to go to partners to be able to provide those services because we don't have the space," Gordon said. "This location will allow us to bring people in. So it's going to make it easier to do things on nights and weekends so that we don't upset the lives of our partners who have been so gracious."
The Red Cross puts on several blood drives in the region, including MU's Homecoming drive. Gordon said she hoped the new facility would also be more accessible for the chapter's volunteers, which make up 90% of its help.