Truman buys, levels homes
Laura Uhlmansiek
Issue date: 4/1/04 Section: News
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Dirt and rubble are all that's left of four houses that served as homes to students and families for more than 30 years.
The University purchased two houses on Marion Street and two houses on West Normal Street during the past two years. The cleared land will give more building options to the University, but some students are upset to see the buildings destroyed.
"I think it's sad because it's not just about the students who were living there because so many students have memories from those houses," senior Katie Gambach said. "It was such a hang-out place for students, and it's not going to be anything anymore."
Gambach was one of many students who has lived in the two-story white house at 602 S. Marion. After Gambach had lived there for a year, her landlord told her in April 2002 that she only could live there one more year, and after that, the house would belong to the University.
"I was a little angry because I feel that there's a lack of affordable student housing in Kirksville close to campus, and those two houses there had been student houses for a while," Gambach said.
University general counsel Warren Wells said the University made a good decision when it purchased the land because it is in a good location. He said it is possible the University will use the land as a parking lot for a visitors' center and possibly a museum, but no firm plans have been made.
"If you take the two [houses] on South Marion, and you add that land area to what we already had with the fire station property, that really makes the fire station property much more usable," Wells said. "It opens up a lot of possibilities."
He said Campus Planning has not decided what the University will use the property for, but it is considering several options.
The University purchased the two houses on Marion in July 2003 for a total of $165,000. The University also purchased two houses on Normal Street that were demolished earlier this week. The University paid $65,000 in September 2003 for the property at 301 W. Normal and $80,000 in December 2002 for the house at 209 W. Normal.
Wells said the University paid a fair price for the property.
"We pretty much pay what the market value is," he said. "I wouldn't characterize them as bargain prices for the University, but they were purchased for the right value."
Wells said the two properties on Normal were the last privately owned properties between Franklin and First streets on the south side of Normal Street.
"If the University ever wants to do a major building project, the way is clear to do that," Wells said. "Now that we own that property on Normal Street, we're open to all kinds of possibilities, whether it be a parking lot or a new residence hall."
Campus planner Doug Winicker said that although the University does not have immediate plans to build on the acquired lots, the lots still needed to be cleared.
"We always try to clear the building on the property that we choose to purchase so that it does not become a hazard," he said.
Winicker said the land will be leveled and sod will be laid after the demolition is completed.
The University has waited to do the demolition work until now because it costs less to demolish all four houses at one time, Wells said.
Wells said he had asked the Marion property owners if they would be willing to sell the property. He said the two landowners of the Normal Street properties had approached the University first and offered to sell their properties.
"It was a good thing for all the parties involved," Wells said. "Our goal when we try to buy property is try to be fair with people because it's important for the University to maintain a good relationship with the people here in the community who have the land and have resources."
Hazel Putnam, who had owned the two Marion properties since 1963, said the houses had been good rental property because they were located so close to campus.
She said she and her husband decided to sell the property because they figured the University eventually would need to buy it.
"We're getting more mature, and we thought they were going to have to have it anyway because of parking," Putnam said. "[The University] did not push it."
Gambach said she was upset to see the houses demolished not only because it was once her home but also because it was a popular hangout for her friends and students from the theater department.
"It was a place you could hang out and know that somebody would be inside that you could talk to," Gambach said.