UMKC gains three gifts for downtown arts campus project

The University of Missouri-Kansas City Foundation said it recently received three significant gifts to support its proposed Downtown Campus for the Arts.

The foundation announced it received a $1.5 million gift from the David Beals Charitable Trust, Bank of America N.A., Trustee. It also received two $1 million gifts from anonymous donors.

These gifts put UMKC within $14 million of reaching its $48 million fundraising goal for the downtown campus.

The university needs to raise $48 million in private funding by June 30 to be able to request matching funds from the state of Missouri to cover the $96 million cost of the project’s first phase.

The downtown arts campus would house the university’s Conservatory of Music and Dance, replacing several outdated and spread-out facilities on the Volker area campus. About 600 students would be relocated to downtown.

The downtown campus would be in an area bounded by Broadway, Central, 17th and 18th streets. The property is south of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.

“The dream of having a downtown campus for our incredible conservatory is one that I’ve long believed in,” said UMKC chancellor Leo E. Morton. “I am more confident than ever that our dream will come true.”

This story was originally published November 5, 2015 at 11:28 AM with the headline "UMKC gains three gifts for downtown arts campus project."