A former Boone County commissioner says a coalition has come together to gauge the level of support for saving the historic Katy railroad station, which houses Shiloh Bar and Grill downtown.
Businessman and former commissioner Fred Parry tells 939 the Eagle that it’s a grassroots effort:
“It’s people that don’t really have much in common normally. And so we all come from different political backgrounds. All walks of life from every corner of the community,” he says.
Mr. Parry emphasizes they want to respect owner Jack Maher’s private property rights, adding that Mr. Maher should receive the money he deserves for taking great care of the building.
939 the Eagle’s Mike Murphy of Comobuz broke the story this week that the Katy station, the Broadway Diner and the Ice House properties are now tied up in active real estate transactions. Former commissioner Parry, who hosts 939 the Eagle’s “CEO Roundtable” is well aware of that:
“But we hope that we can somehow convince the new owners, the potential buyer, to rethink their location for student housing. Right now we know of approximately four different student housing projects that are being proposed in Columbia,” Mr. Parry says.
He says this is one of the four and says at what point does Columbia have enough student housing. Shiloh Bar and Grill has announced on its Facebook page that this will be its last football season.