(Joplin, MO) – At the November 17, 2025, Joplin City Council meeting, representatives of a coalition formed to find alternatives to demolishing Joplin’s 100-year-old Memorial Hall presented a proposal for a public-private partnership to be formed to rehabilitate and operate the facility.
The proposed rehabilitation includes updated finishes systems throughout, structural repairs, a new elevator and modern theatrical needs including new seating. Dedicated space for the Post 13 American Legion’s meetings would be created and the veterans’ memorials would be maintained. Crossland Construction provided a $16.7 million cost estimate for the rehabilitation, significantly less than previous projections.
Through the partnership, formed with the City of Joplin and a new nonprofit, funding the rehabilitation will come from a variety of sources including Missouri and Federal historic tax credits, new market tax credits, community fundraising and proceeds from a proposed 2% increase in the hotel-motel occupancy rate.
This increase would fund $7 million of the rehabilitation. Once complete, the 2% increase would be used for future tourism-based capital projects. This increase will require city council and legislative approval and will be put on the ballot for a public vote in late 2026 or early 2027.
Once complete, the operations of the Hall would fall to a newly formed 501c3, Friends of Joplin Memorial Hall, with a board potentially formed from interested parties including: Connect2Culture; Post 13 American Legion; Downtown Joplin Alliance; representatives from the Hotel/Motel Industry; Spiva Center for the Arts; the City of Joplin; and community members at large. Operational funding would be created from programming, rentals, concessions and donations.
Downtown Joplin Alliance Executive Director, Lori Haun states, “Memorial Hall is such an important structure in this community —it’s part of our history and deserves to be part of our future as well. The best results for assets like this are often reached through public-private partnerships; in fact, that’s how the building originally was built.”
The proposal was advanced forward to a Memorandum of Understanding by a unanimous vote by Joplin City Council on November 17, 2025.
The Friends of Memorial Hall will be hosting a community meeting on December 1, 2025, from 4:00 to 6:00 pm at Joplin Avenue Coffee Company (506 S. Joplin Avenue). This will be an opportunity to see the full proposal, ask questions and find out how to get involved in saving this community anchor. This event is open to all.
References:
Lori Haun, Executive Director
Downtown Joplin Alliance
lori@downtownjoplin.com
417.529.3888
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