A $1.15 million dollar project is underway to convert the former gymnasium on the historic Kemper Military School campus into Boonville’s new public library.

Boonslick Regional Library signed the agreement and notice to proceed July 19th with general contractors GBH Builders of Jefferson City to convert the three-story building. Mary Pat Abele, chairwoman of the library’s Cooper County Building and Expansion Committee, says the new location will provide more space than the current location on Main Street.

Abele says the library plans to keep much of the configuration of the building, as it was in the process of becoming Kemper’s library when the academy closed its doors.

Crews will further renovate the building over the next six months, including a new HVAC unit for the lower level and an extended staircase. Abele notes that library supporters have raised close to $800,000 for the project, including a $100,000 appropriation from the State of Missouri’s budget stabilization fund. Phase one of the renovations is slated for completion in late January.

Photo courtesy of Mary Pat Abele, Boonslick Regional Library