The historic building known as Katy Station has to be moved or demolished due to a potential developer of student housing apartments acquiring the property.
Community members gathered Sunday and crowded the room at Shiloh Bar & Grill to discuss the future of the building, currently located at 402 E. Broadway.
"The reality that we're getting is we either move the building or it comes down; it goes with the body," said James Roark-Gruender, past chair of The Loop Community Improvement District.
The event Sunday, put on by the Save Katy Station group, was an effort to hear the community's opinions on where they should move the front of Shiloh.
“We just want to demonstrate to anybody listening how much Columbia cares about this building,” said Matt Fetterly, creator of savekatystation.org and member of the Historic Preservation Commission. “(Also to) show off the building itself, the building we're saving, and show off some of the history we've researched over the last few weeks. And then, really, to get some public feedback and (understand) what people would like to see done with the building.”
The importance of keeping historical sites is a focus for Valerie Carroll, First Ward representative of the city of Columbia.
"I think that the historical resources of the First Ward are incredibly important to give people a sense of place and a value of who we are and where we are," Carroll said.
At the meeting, many community members said they preferred to move the front to Flat Branch Park, a small green space about 75 yards away from the building’s current location. Other options discussed at the meeting included the land near Paris Road, property owned by the Boone County Historical Society or behind the Broadway gateway.
"One thing that we heard from everybody I talked to is they want it still connected to the MKT Trail or rail line to keep its history," Roark-Gruender said.
Although opinions differed on the relocation of the building, what the station supporters agreed on was the devotion of the community to save the building.
“The really important thing is how much this is just a community outpouring of support that is from all parts of the community,” said Elena Vega, board president of CoMo Preservation, a nonprofit that advocates for protecting historic buildings in Columbia. “Everybody just reached out and said, 'What can we do? Let's work together.'”
It was expressed multiple times that no matter what views a community member has, they have still come together in an effort to save the station.
“This makes me so happy," said Melissa Bernhardt, a board member of CoMo Preservation. "We all have way different opinions on politics and stuff, but this is something we all can get together on.”
Bringing the community together was a common topic on Sunday night.
“I just want to thank Columbia from the bottom of my heart," Fetterly said. "This has been a thing that's brought people of all natures together. ... Everybody seems to be united behind this one effort.”
Some community members have seen the building transform from railroad to restaurant.
“I grew up here, and I used to pick my grandparents up here at this train station,” said Leslie Trogeon, a Columbia resident.
Others have seen different restaurants come and go, occupying the space throughout the years.
“I remember it as the restaurant Katy Station," said Bill Moyes, a Columbia resident for almost 60 years. "It had the most favorable things in my memory. It was such a great place to go eat. The food was delicious. The atmosphere was unmatched. It has not been quite the same more recently. But the bones of the restaurant and the building itself are still here, and that's what we need to save."
To save the building, supporters said it cannot be done without the help of the community.
“I'm not saving it. Matt's not saving it. Barbara Buffaloe's not saving it. Fred Parry's not saving it. The community's saving it. We're all coming together to save this," Roark-Gruender said. "I have talked (about) this to 500 people, everywhere, from people on the street to city council members to people in the city — everybody.”
Mayor Buffaloe expressed her gratitude for the community coming together for one cause and said she hopes it continues.
“I think the one thing you're seeing right now is the community coming together to work with one another for a space that means so much to so many," Buffaloe said. "That's kind of the radical collaboration that we want to see in Columbia. We have seen (it), and I hope we'll continue to see (it).”
