Gorilla Rising project reaches new milestones

Two milestones have been reached in the Gorilla Rising project in downtown Pittsburg that will transform a vacant historic landmark and build a new home for the university's Business programs.

Pittsburg State University now owns the site at Secondand Broadway on which the new Kelce College of Business will be built, and Crossland Construction has been chosen in a design-build process.

Now that these milestones have been reached, in the next few weeks details will unfold quickly, including a construction schedule, updated renderings, and a site plan.

The project takes the longstanding strong connection between the community, the region, and Pitt State to a new level to the benefit of all, noted President Dan Shipp.

"Thanks to the shared vision, hard work, and collaboration of leaders at the city and state level, and the donors who realized the value of this investment, this will help Pittsburg and the university continue to thrive together during a time when many cities the size of ours are not," Shipp said.

Kelce College of Business

The new Kelce will be built at 216 N. Broadway. The existing building will be demolished.

Design and construction plans will be finalized this fall and winter. The project is expected to be completed in the Summer of 2026. In addition to providing space for PSU Business courses, the new building will also accommodate the Business and Economic Research Center and the Professional Sales Center.

"All of the partners involved in this work are committed to minimizing disruption to our downtown neighbors," Shipp said. "We want to be very thoughtful and respectful about access to adjacent businesses and downtown traffic flow."

When it's finished, Shipp said, it will "add to the vitality and vibrancy downtown that will allow for our students and community partners to interact in new and valuable ways."

The Besse Hotel

Initial work began this summer to gut the interior to prepare it for renovation. The community will see activity there in coming months as Crossland moves in to prepare the site, including a roof replacement.

Construction will begin in February-March.

It will be modeled after the Block22 project at Fourth and Broadway, expanding the concept and the footprint to create a living-learning district.

The Block22 project, which preserved four historic buildings and converted them to mixed use, transformed the heart of the city: it spurred the opening of numerous new downtown businesses and the revitalization of several older buildings.

"Gorilla Rising is going to continue this transformative work downtown, turning the Besse into a point of pride for the whole community, a historic building that has a new future in Pittsburg," Shipp said.

On the ground floor will be a mix of office and commercial space, and the Center for Reading and the University Testing Center -- both operated by Pitt State to provide a diagnostic service for children from throughout the region. Currently, those centers are on the second floor of Whitesitt Hall and come with visibility and accessibility challenges for the public that utilize them.

Floors 2 through 13 will be renovated into student apartments. University Housing & Residence Life will manage them as it does those above the National Bank Building, the Opera House Hotel, the Commerce Building, and the Baxter Building that comprise Block22.

The leadership team has completed the architecture phase (identifying uses and needs) and the schematic design phase (where walls will go).

The team is nearing completion of the design development phase (HVAC, aesthetics, and material finishes), and next will move into finalizing construction documents.

That phase likely will take until January, after which Crossland can begin work.

At the same time, the team is submitting historic paperwork to the State Historic Preservation Office and the National Park Service for review and approval.

About Gorilla Rising

Funding for the project comes from a combination of private and public donors and partnerships; a grant from the Kansas Department of Commerce; and gaming revenue, a Revolving Loan Fund contribution, and in-kind support from the City of Pittsburg.

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