The operators of the Curious Kids’ Museum in St. Joseph are telling the city commission they’ve made a fair offer to buy the building they’re in. Now it’s up to the city to decide if they want a world-class children’s museum.
Curious Kids’ Museum has operated on Lake View Boulevard for the past 34 years. In that time, they’ve seen nearly 2 million visitors at that location. The non-profit has rented the building from the city for the past 34 years; they still have another 22 years left on their lease. Executive Director Lori Marciniak says they’ve made improvements as a renter. They’ve offered to buy the building for $500,000, but so far, the city hasn’t said yes.
“Every investment we make in this building is a leasehold improvement since we do not own the building. So we have already added on 2,700 square foot to the building. We’ve added an elevator, we’ve added ramps in the front, in the back of the building and our donors have said, you know, that’s, that’s enough.”
Marciniak says Curious Kids’ is ready to launch a multi-million dollar capital campaign to turn the building into a world-class children’s museum, now they’re just waiting on the city to accept their half-million dollar offer. The vision the Curious Kids’ Museum has presented includes investing $5 million in the building and another $2 million in new exhibits.
The city council has the offer – it’s the second the museum has made. The city chose to not discuss it at their last meeting until their attorney has reviewed it and the full council has a chance to weigh in.
