Riverside Library buys formerly leased building

Riverside Regional Library leased space in a commercial building in Jackson for years. Now it owns it.

The library bought the 29,000-square-foot building in April for $1.1 million, library director Jeff Trinkle said Thursday. The purchase includes a large parking area.

The library encompasses about 17,000 square feet of the structure at 1997 E. Jackson Blvd. Riverside has leased the remainder of the space to Adult and Teen Challenge Mid-America, he said.

The lease agreement with Teen Challenge ends in 2025, Trinkle said.

Trinkle discussed the library’s purchase Thursday with Cape Girardeau County commissioners.

“We are real proud of what we’ve got,” he told commissioners.

The purchase of the building, which involves a 20-year mortgage, would allow the library to expand in the future, Trinkle said after the meeting.

“I see it going that way,” he said. “We are busting at the seams.”

Riverside moved into the Jackson Boulevard structure 10 years ago from a smaller facility in the community, more than doubling its space, according to Southeast Missourian archives.

“It has been a great site,” Trinkle said. “The location is one of the most high-traffic locations in the county.”

Riverside consists of three tax-funded library districts in Cape Girardeau, Scott and Perry counties. Besides the main library in Jackson, Riverside operates library branches in Perryville, Scott City, Benton, Oran and Altenburg.

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