New library hub could be next step in revitalizing this historic KC-area downtown
As Independence municipal employees slowly move out of City Hall, a potential new tenant is eyeing the property — and planning to start completely from scratch.
The Mid-Continent Public Library has proposed buying the lot at 111 E. Maple Ave., demolishing the existing City Hall and building a new administrative headquarters on the site that would be partially open to the public.
Discussions between the city and the library system have been going on for several months, according to Interim City Manager Lisa Reynolds. Representatives from the library most recently discussed the planned rebuild at an Independence City Council study session on Monday.
Though the council didn’t formally vote to approve the planned building at the time, several councilmembers said that they would strongly support the project.
“This is a unique opportunity that doesn’t come around very often,” said Councilmember and Mayor Pro Tem John Perkins.
A letter of intent will appear on the council’s agenda next week, Reynolds said, which would formalize MCPL’s pitch to buy and develop the site.
“We’re really excited about the potential for MCPL to contribute to the revitalization of downtown Independence, and fully recognize the responsibility that comes with becoming a new neighbor,” Mid-Continent Public Library Director and CEO Aaron Mason told the council Monday.
‘Embedded in the community’
Reynolds said that selling the property to the library system would align with the city’s ongoing plan to redevelop Independence Square, which councilmembers adopted and initiated in December 2024.
The proposed MCPL headquarters would be 68,000 square feet with two stories — a ground level and a basement with a grassy “green roof.” It would include a 110-space parking lot and 40 dedicated street parking spaces, plus bike storage.
The first floor would be geared more toward public access, including “Independence Plaza,” a broad atrium which Mason described as a communal “living room” for employees and residents.
The basement would include offices, storage, collection and book drop-off space, as well as loading dock access and a “work cafe.”
According to a letter of intent filed by MCPL, if the library system took over the site, the sale would close on June 1, 2026. A purchase price has not yet been set.
MCPL would aim to break ground on the new site near the end of 2026, Mason said.
“This project will be conceived and developed in a way that really honors that vision and allows for flexibility in how future development ultimately unfolds as well,” Mason said.
The Mid-Continent Public Library began looking for a new administrative headquarters site after a facilities assessment in 2024, which made it clear that their current headquarters required significant work, Mason said.
Independence Square appeals to the library system because it’s centrally located and because it could allow for an entirely new building rather than taking over an old one, Mason said.
However, Mason said, the location would also allow the MCPL headquarters to be partially open to the public for the first time.
“The building is embedded in the community,” Mason said. “It’s in a walkable environment. It has proximity to locally owned businesses. And most importantly, it’s publicly accessible.”
One of the functions of the MCPL is transferring books and other materials among branches, Mason said, which could mean a higher volume of truck traffic at earlier hours.
“More than likely, very few of us would actually see it or notice it within a given day,” Mason said.
And both councilmembers and MCPL representatives said Monday that they would prefer to see a building that didn’t disrupt the downtown skyline or look extremely dissimilar from the rest of Independence Square.
“The last thing you want to do is build, like, a Dubai-looking building in the middle of Independence Square,” Mason said.
MCPL is working with Kansas City architecture firm BNIM to design the potential new space.
About 150 employees, most of whom are Jackson County residents, would work at the new headquarters, Mason said.
Doubling down on Independence
MCPL’s existing headquarters is already located in Independence, at 15616 E. 24 Hwy, though this new building would be larger and would house more of the organization’s functions. Councilmember Bridget McCandless asked Monday if remaining in Independence — and Jackson County — would cause tension between the library system and its other two member counties, Platte and Clay.
“Sometimes Independence has a little bit of an inferiority complex,” McCandless said.
Mason said that MCPL had briefly considered other sites located further east and north, but that other counties have been “supportive of [MCPL] engaging in good-faith negotiations” with Independence.
“Everyone understands that being centrally located, the efficiencies gained from being in Independence, is probably primarily the most important thing that we need to consider,” Mason said.
The current City Hall property includes a garden honoring Independence’s sister city of Higashimurayama, Japan. Mason said that the MCPL would plan to “relocate or reimagine” the garden in its plans.
Meanwhile, the city is already in the process of moving most municipal departments to the Independence Municipal Commons building at 20201 E. Jackson Drive.
The city purchased the property – formerly the Landmark Building or the Government Employees Health Association (GEHA) building – in early 2024, fully furnished, for $20 million. According to the Independence city website, about 350 city employees will eventually work out of there full time.
