With a new downtown site chosen for Pittsburg State University’s Kelce School of Business, and funding secured from private and public sources, work is poised to begin on the Gorilla Rising project. The $50 million initiative, announced last year, will move the college of business downtown, embedding upper-level business students in the Pittsburg business community. It also will transform the historic Besse Hotel, which has been vacant for many years, into student apartments on the upper floors, with a mix of public and office space, including the Center for Reading, on the first floor. About 60 student housing units will be located on the upper floors of the Besse Hotel. Work began there this week to prepare it for renovation. The site for the college of business has changed since planning for the project began, from Fifth and Broadway to 216 N. Broadway. That site was previously home to the All Aboard Foundation. The existing building will be razed and a new building suited to student and faculty needs will be built in its place. The site also allows for parking in a lot next to the building.
Source: www.joplinglobe.com
