Kansas City Banks on Deal
for New Main Library
Kansas City (Mo.) Public Library announced September 20 that an influential group of business leaders, the Downtown Council, has agreed to purchase an abandoned landmark for $3.15 million and lease it to the library as its new main facility. The former Bank of America building would undergo substantial interior renovations, including the addition of a fifth floor and a vaulted glass roof. Officials are looking to fund the project, estimated at least $32.5 million, through private-sector contributions, tax credits, and other sources that would supplement the library’s $10.5-million share, according to KCPL Executive Director Daniel J. Bradbury.
“Over a year ago, we issued a challenge to the downtown community,” Bradbury told American Libraries. “If you want to keep us downtown, show us that you love us. And they have.”
The announcement came several months after officials extended the deadline to April 2001 for finding a lead tenant for a nine-story office complex slated to hold a two-story regional library at its base. The developer would receive a $14.4-million tax break for creating the library space.
Posted September 25, 2000.
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