Health care alliance plans conference center at Cox North

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Last edited 2:15 p.m., Dec. 23, 2024 [Editor's note: The correct rendering has been uploaded.]

A conference center is now part of the Alliance for Healthcare Education's plans for its Cox North campus.

Alliance Executive Director Shallina Goodnight said via email that the organization's board voted unanimously on Dec. 19 to add a conference center to the planned blueprint of work at the campus that's south of Division Street and between Robberson and Jefferson avenues.

Goodnight said the 3,564-square-foot conference center would host conferences, speaker series, workshops and events, with the ability to accommodate up to 300 people. Goodnight added that the project has an estimated cost of $3.5 million, which is outside the scope of the $15 million appropriation the alliance received in Gov. Mike Parson's approved fiscal 2025 budget for renovation at Cox North.

"The alliance is actively pursuing private donations and other funding sources to make this vision a reality," Goodnight said via email. "With a vibrant future ahead, this space will undoubtedly become a point of pride for the community.

"This facility will empower students with access to experiences often found only in metropolitan hubs, leveling the playing field for those training in Springfield and beyond."

Goodnight said while the conference center primarily would support the alliance’s work, the group expects it would be available to rent to outside organizations.

The Alliance for Healthcare Education, formed last year by CoxHealth, Missouri State University, Ozarks Technical Community College and Springfield Public Schools, is renovating around 45,000 square feet at Cox North into educational and clinical spaces, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting. The square footage is an increase from the 30,000 square feet the organization originally planned to renovate.

Goodnight told SBJ for a Dec. 20 article that a groundbreaking for the renovation work is targeted for summer 2025, with DeWitt & Associates Inc. serving as general contractor and Paragon Architecture LLC as project architect.