The Future of the McKinney Building
The McKinney Building is among 24 locations in Columbia commemorated with informational markers along the African American Heritage Trail. Located at 411 E. Broadway, the century-old building has functioned as a jazz venue, candy store, shopping outlet and African American community center, among other things.
The City of Columbia purchased the building in August 2023. (On the right side of this page is a Powerpoint presentation outlining details about the history of the building and how the City of Columbia acquired it.) The Mayor’s Task Force on McKinney Building Planning is now gathering feedback from the community and will use that input to recommend a plan for the building's use to City Council. The Task Force is composed of 15 members appointed by the Mayor that represent diverse industries of the community, including experts in Columbia's local history, music studies and downtown businesses.
The first Public Input Meeting was held March 21, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the McKinney Building. Additional public input opportunities will be posted here as they are scheduled.
Questions and Comments posted below will be shared with the Task Force, and answers will be provided as soon as possible.
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Please share your thoughts about the future of the McKinney Building. These comments will be shared with the Task Force.
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about 2 months ago
Turn the building into a creative hub! A part of the 1st or 2nd floor could be dedicated to the Music Den, a practice space for musicians.
The Music Den aims to provide private practice spaces for casual musicians, bands, and aspiring musicians, and I need a space! See more about the Music Den by watching my 1 Million Cups presentation here: https://fb.watch/qP1vLARL5R/
about 2 months ago
Black History Museum: Great downtown location & ON the AAHT. Much history to preserve in this area and this building could be headquarters
about 2 months ago
A great space for after-school programs/community hub
How great would it be for this building to revert back to one of its original uses as a community space! Within walking/biking distance from several schools and on a main city bus route, this space could serve to fill the gap of after school care for kids 12-18 in a safe, indoor environment with programs to enrich their learning and social skills. A place where kids could hang out, under adult supervision for no, or minimal cost.
17 days ago
Creative Hub for youth
I am seconding/combining Kiley.Grimes and LittleFish's comments about a creative hub/community. It would be great for adults, but I also feel there's not a lot of places for kids to go after school or even on weekends besides the mall and wandering downtown. There used to be much more affordable and teen-friendly places to go when I was that age here (the Armory had different youth-friendly events, more kid-friendly stores to browse, Gunther's Games, etc). It would be awesome to get more of our youth involved in learning professional and personal development skills like resume writing, job interviewing, trade school/college info. It would also be a great place to host a youth open mic, have art classes, teach graphic design, coding, etc. We keep seeing younger folks getting into trouble around here and I can't help but wonder if something like this can give our youth more direction for years to come.
