Children's museum receives more tax credits for new site

The Discovery Playhouse received a boost Tuesday with news it will receive an additional $108,000 in state tax credits.

Plans to move the hands-on children's museum to a new location at 502 Broadway had been contingent on approval of the credits. Now members of the board of directors are furiously trying to raise $300,000 to fund building renovations and $290,000 to purchase the space. They hope to open the museum this summer.

The Playhouse opened in 2006 in West Park Mall and closed in mid-2007, with the intention of moving to a larger space at 101 William St. The Missouri Department of Economic Development granted $142,000 in tax credits for the move, under the Neighborhood Assistance Program. But plans crumbled when the owner of the William Street building, John Wyman, and Playhouse board members could not agree on a price.

In February board members announced they had found a new location on Broadway, contingent that the tax credits could be transferred to the new space. On Tuesday, board members announced that the credits were approved, and had been increased to $250,000. Donors will receive 50 percent of their contribution back in the form of state tax credits. The museum is a not-for-profit organization.

"This is the maximum they can give on any project. We're just ecstatic they were able to find more credits for us," said Martha Brown, president of the board of directors.

Brown said a lease-purchase agreement has been signed for the new space, formerly a consignment shop. Renovations will include increasing the number of bathrooms, installing a sprinkler system and completing electrical work.

The Playhouse operated out of a 1,400-square-foot space at the mall. The new location has 18,000 square feet, but the museum will only use 8,000 to 10,000 of it initially.

All the exhibits will be new, Brown said. Exhibits include a mock pizza parlor, banking center, supermarket, fitness and medical center, art station and a 1952 firetruck.

"The most exciting thing is that a lot of the exhibits and displays will be rotating, and the Playhouse is going to be different each time people come. It's a place where families can work together with their kids to create and learn," said Jennifer Kornblum, a member of the board of directors. She said one of the most exciting exhibits in the works is one centered on rain forests. "If we incorporate sound and sight and all the texture, it will be a fun experience that will be similar to being in a rain forest," she said.

Brown said the Playhouse is still working with other museums, such as the Magic House and Science Center in St. Louis, on borrowing exhibits.

A fee of $4 will be charged for entrance, but assistance will be available for low-income families, Brown said. The museum hopes to gain permission to allow visitors to park in a parking lot owned by Trinity Lutheran Church.

Donations to the Playhouse can be made by calling 573-587-6555. Labor or material donations are eligible for tax credits. A fundraiser at the new location is being planned for late April.

"We've been disappointed; with all these gloomy cold days we didn't have a place for kids to play. We want to open up as soon as we can," Brown said.

lbavolek@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123

Does this affect you?

Have a comment?

Log on to semissourian.com/today