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Boonville —
The city of Boonville has hired an architecture firm to start planning renovations at the Katy Depot and Gingrich Warehouse building.
Susan Richards, Johnson and Associates, a Kansas City firm, will meet next week with city officials and representatives of local organizations such as Friends of Historic Boonville to gather input for making the buildings into a tourism hub.
"One of the things that we're really focused on is making the whole area including the grounds leading to the (Katy Bridge) into one cohesive space," special projects coordinator Kate Fjell said.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation granted $2,500 for the project, and the city will match the funding.
City Council approved an agreement to acquire the buildings from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources in December, but the city couldn't start any renovations until securing new offices for state agency employees who worked in the depot. At the council meeting last week, Mayor Julie Thacher announced DNR would close its Cooper County office and relocate employees to other locations, clearing the way for the city to start work on the tourism hub.
The project is estimated to take five years and cost between $300,000 and $500,00. Plans under consideration include converting the Gingrich building into a museum displaying historic Boonslick, railroad and Kemper Military School and College artifacts, but decisions on what exactly the city will display in the space remain.
"We want to make sure that people that have things to share have a say in it," Fjell said.
The initial planning stage for the tourism hub is expected to take six months, Fjell said. She said the architects will act in a similar fashion to those working on the state-funded downtown revitalization program, where planners surveyed the area, gathered input from property owners, and are now expected to produce a final plan for the city.
Measures to give the area surrounding the buildings a more cohesive feel could include using the same historical lighting throughout the space and creating a common streetscape design, Fjell said.
The city of Boonville has hired an architecture firm to start planning renovations at the Katy Depot and Gingrich Warehouse building.
Susan Richards, Johnson and Associates, a Kansas City firm, will meet next week with city officials and representatives of local organizations such as Friends of Historic Boonville to gather input for making the buildings into a tourism hub.
"One of the things that we're really focused on is making the whole area including the grounds leading to the (Katy Bridge) into one cohesive space," special projects coordinator Kate Fjell said.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation granted $2,500 for the project, and the city will match the funding.
City Council approved an agreement to acquire the buildings from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources in December, but the city couldn't start any renovations until securing new offices for state agency employees who worked in the depot. At the council meeting last week, Mayor Julie Thacher announced DNR would close its Cooper County office and relocate employees to other locations, clearing the way for the city to start work on the tourism hub.
The project is estimated to take five years and cost between $300,000 and $500,00. Plans under consideration include converting the Gingrich building into a museum displaying historic Boonslick, railroad and Kemper Military School and College artifacts, but decisions on what exactly the city will display in the space remain.
"We want to make sure that people that have things to share have a say in it," Fjell said.
The initial planning stage for the tourism hub is expected to take six months, Fjell said. She said the architects will act in a similar fashion to those working on the state-funded downtown revitalization program, where planners surveyed the area, gathered input from property owners, and are now expected to produce a final plan for the city.
Measures to give the area surrounding the buildings a more cohesive feel could include using the same historical lighting throughout the space and creating a common streetscape design, Fjell said.
