The Missouri State Foundation announced Monday that it purchased a downtown Springfield event space. And you can still throw a wedding reception there.
The Old Glass Place, 521 St. Louis Ave., now belongs to the foundation. The 12,000-square-foot venue with a 551-person capacity has hosted numerous weddings, prom parties, concerts and galas since its 2014 renovation. The foundation paid $1.75 million for the venue, executive director Brent Dunn said. The previous owners, Al Miller and Roger Malarkey, included the furnishings — from the ballroom’s tables and chairs to its sound system — as part of the deal, which a news release described as a “significant charitable gift” to the foundation.
This is the foundation’s second downtown property. It owns and operates the Kenneth E. Meyer Alumni Center, which is about a five-minute walk away from the Old Glass Place.
“It’s perfect,” Dunn said of the facility and its proximity to the foundation headquarters. “Otherwise, we probably wouldn’t have bought an event space.”
The Old Glass Place will help the foundation achieve two initiatives, he said. First, it will serve as a go-to event space for Missouri State Foundation and Missouri State University functions. The foundation got the keys last Wednesday, and MSU had a football recruit signing day event with Bears head coach Ryan Beard there the next day.
That event was on the calendar well before the sale was completed, and Dunn said there are events scheduled in advance (about a year’s worth) at the Old Glass Place. Those include weddings every weekend next month.
Generating revenue for the foundation is the second initiative, Dunn said, which is why the public will continue to be able to book dates at the Old Glass Place. Dunn said the foundation staff isn’t getting into the catering business. The Missouri State Foundation is contracting with 425 Downtown LLC to manage the Old Glass Place.
