KBIA Local
(2009-12-30)
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COLUMBIA, MO
(KBIA) -
The state is moving forward with its plans to redevelop the old Jefferson City Penitentiary site. The Office of Administration this morning unveiled the plan that includes government use, private business, and historic preservation. KBIA's Sara Wittmeyer reports.
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The plan details how the 142 acre site of the former penitentiary will be used. About 30 acres is dedicated to private development, the state will keep about 100, and the historic area makes up about 12 acres. The Office of administration led the creation of this plan but it is very similar to one the Missouri State Penitentiary Redevelopment Commission created about four years ago.
Office of Administration Commissioner Kelvin Simmons says the plans complement each other.
"There are times when you've got private development out there who want to know all the entities are on the same page, that the commission is on the same page and there's a willingness to move forward with a development. So I think the MOU pretty much expresses this administration's willingness to work with the city and work with the county to create something special."
Unlike the previous plan, this new agreement includes defined boundaries. Jefferson City Mayor John Landwehr says the increased specificity will help attract development. No private developers have expressed an interest in the project but the agencies are confident once roads and infrastructure are in place developers will step forward. The city and county are putting in money to fund the initial road. Construction is supposed to start in 2010 and be complete within a year.
There's no timeline for the other parts of the plan. Officials say that would be unrealistic because of the budget issues facing the state and with private developers not being at the table.
Simmons says there isn't an estimated figure for the cost of the entire project but he says, it'll be in the millions. The prison was the oldest operating prison west of the Mississippi until it closed in 2004. It housed prisoners including Sonny Liston, Pretty Boy Flloyd, and James Earl Ray.
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