Kirksville Arts Association and City Form Land Agreement

The Kirksville Arts Association will sign the deed of ownership on a new lot, where they will build the Sue Ross Arts Center, tomorrow.

In 2016, the Kirksville Arts Association building burned down. The former building was located just north of Kirksville City Hall.

The Kirksville City Council approved a land exchange agreement with the Kirksville Arts Association at the Council’s Aug. 20 meeting. The City owns the land just south of City Hall, which it has now agreed to trade for a lot of equal size owned by the Kirksville Arts Association. The Kirksville Arts Association Board of Directors also approved the exchange agreement.

At the city council meeting, city manager Mari Macomber said the City bought the lot last spring and agreed that whatever was to be built on the lot would have to be something of importance to the City.

Linda Treasure, Kirksville Arts Association president, said the association originally looked into purchasing the land south of City Hall but ultimately did not have to.

Treasure said Macomber approached the arts association about the exchange after seeing the plans and designs for the new arts center.

“She had seen the design we had for our new building and she thought that would be a good location for it,” Treasure said. “She contacted me about the possibility of exchanging our lots.”

Treasure said the association hopes to start building by January 2019, but it has to raise more funding first.

Treasure said the Kirksville Arts Association has a capital campaign to raise funding for the construction of the Sue Ross Arts Center building. She said the campaign has raised $1.38 million out of the $1.63 million needed.

Assistant city manager Ashley Young said size of the parcels of land in the exchange are equivalent. The leftover parcel of land by the south lot, which will still be owned by the City, has no immediate plans, Young said. He said the City is open to suggestions from citizens about what to do with the land.