Community Foundation of the Ozarks buys downtown MSU alumni center as its 'forever home'

The Community Foundation of the Ozarks has found a home for its next 50 years, and possibly beyond.

CFO paid $5.8 million to buy the Meyer Alumni Center in downtown Springfield from the Missouri State University Foundation. The entities announced the finalized sale Thursday.

Winter Kinne, president and CEO, said CFO has outgrown its 10,000-square-foot building at 425 E. Trafficway.

"This is a big leap forward for our organization and this could very well be the final physical move for the community foundation," Kinne said. "It could, in essence, be our forever home."

The sale gives CFO room to expand and allows the university foundation, which has long occupied the six-story former bank location, to build a customized alumni center on the Springfield campus of Missouri State.

"We made a conscious effort to stay in downtown because we believe in it as an organization so this large building transferring from one anchor institution to another feels really good for the community," Kinne said. "It is also a great opportunity, we think, to serve our constituents even better than we have been."

Limited parking, office and event space at the CFO building had become a challenge and spurred the creation of a Facilities Review Task Force in 2022.

"As the regional hub for philanthropy, we really value our role as a convener, which is a huge part of our mission, just connecting kind of all the philanthropic dots not only in Springfield but across southern Missouri," Kinne said.

Guided by real estate broker Ryan Murray, the task force explored buildings and open space near downtown and inquired about locating in the IDEA Commons zone operated by Missouri State. The university floated the idea of CFO occupying space in the alumni center.

"The entire fourth floor was open at that time," said Brent Dunn, vice president of university advancement. "As we got into the conversation, we asked 'Do you have any interest in taking over the whole building?' We have always had this dream, in the back of our mind, to move to a central part of campus."

That was in spring 2023. Brian Fogle, who retires this month after 15 years as president and CEO of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, said the option was unexpected but attractive.

"It's got historic significance," Fogle said of the Meyer Alumni Center at 300 S. Jefferson Ave. "It's right in the middle of downtown. It also has a parking garage attached, which is very, very attractive to us. And it had space not only for us to expand but to look to the future of who else might want to share tenancy with us and be a part of that building."

CFO sees building's purchase as 'community investment'

In 2023, CFO marked 50 years of place-based philanthropy, which has supported Springfield and southern Missouri with more than $600 million in grants, scholarship and distributions. It was founded in 1973 with $1,500 contributed by 15 local banks.

It operated out of Hammons Tower before moving to its current location in 2006. The land around the building has been developed, and redeveloped, putting a strain on parking.

"It has served us very well. It has only been in the last couple of years that we've outgrown it," Fogle said. "When we moved in, we may have been $100 million in assets and today we're $455 million. We've grown over four times and have had to support that by expanding personnel."

CFO plans to eventually sell that property. Fogle said it is valued at $1.4 million.

Fogle said CFO employs a total of 38 people but not all of them are in Springfield. Of the staff based in the city, not all have office space in the building.

CFO will continue to operate out of its current building while it revamps the space it will occupy in its new home, just two blocks away.

"It will likely be the first quarter of 2025 before we will physically be inside of the space. Of course, that all depends on the renovation and construction schedule," Kinne said.

Asked how much CFO plans to spend on revamping the fourth floor, Kinne said it is too early to know. CFO is self-funding the purchase and the interior work, just as it did with its current building.

The Meyer Alumni Center was designed by Springfield architect Richard Stahl and opened in 1973 for the Bank of Springfield but its name and ownership changed over the years. It was sold to the Missouri State foundation in 1989.

Kinne said there is "great symbolism" to CFO, which operates as a bank for nonprofits, taking over the building.

"It's space both for our constituents and partners. It is space for our staff," she said. "It's a community investment. It's a pillar. It is a concrete building that is going to be around forever, just like the Community Foundation and its endowments are going to be around forever."

Tim Rosenbury, an architect and the director of quality place initiatives for the city, was part of the search process that led to the sale.

"It seems right and it seems fitting that an anchor institution like the community foundation would be the next steward of this landmark building," he said. "This prominent location and its astounding architecture and its amazing presence enables Springfield's downtown to be showcased to residents here who engage with the community foundation and also those who come here from across the region."

More: 'Dream' come true: Missouri State to build alumni center on Springfield campus

Honoring existing leases

CFO does not immediately need the entire 81,083-square-foot building and adjacent parking deck on McDaniel Street.

It has at least 200 parking spots, most of them covered.

CFO will move in but the building will continue to be managed, in the short term, by the MSU foundation, which will lease back the space it currently occupies until a new alumni center can be built on the campus.

Currently, the building is 85% occupied. Parts of it are leased to Missouri State's Learning Diagnostic Clinic and communications staff of the university. There are also businesses that lease space.

CFO said it plans to honor all current leases for the duration of their contracts, which extend out for several years.

Fogle and Kinne said once CFO has settled into the new space, it will be time to talk about refreshing the exterior of the building and putting up new signage.

Claudette Riley covers education for the News-Leader. Email tips and story ideas to criley@news-leader.com.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Community Foundation of the Ozarks buys Missouri State alumni center