JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (ABP) — The Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board will evaluate the sale of its downtown Jefferson City, Mo., headquarters and may accept a gift of property in a neighboring town.
The board plans to consider the issue when it meets during the convention's annual gathering Oct. 29 in Osage Beach, Mo.
If the board approves the motion to accept the six acres of property in nearby California, Mo., the convention will build its new headquarters on the land, whether or not the motion to sell the current headquarters is approved.
The recommendations came from a convention relocation committee and have been endorsed by the Executive Board's administrative committee.
The first recommendation calls for the sale — at a maximum price of $1.7 million — of the current offices to the Gardner Group, Inc.
The second asks for acceptance of the six acres of property donated by Kenny Vaughn of Vaughn Construction Company with the understanding that “the convention headquarters will be moved to the new location as soon as possible.”
In recent years, the convention has been trying to sell the Baptist Building — the former Missouri Hotel, which it acquired and renovated in 1969 — because it has become too difficult for the convention to maintain.
Directors have been advised that the donated land is worth between $500,000 and $600,000. It would be part of a larger development that would include both commercial and residential construction.
The recommendations need only the approval of the Executive Board and do not require a vote of messengers to the annual meeting.
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