The Agri-Business Expo Center in St. Joseph, Missouri, celebrated another big step toward its development of a 145-acre, multi-purpose campus focusing on agriculture, education and commerce. On May 6 friends, supporters and dignitaries gathered for the groundbreaking of the Missouri Highway 36 Interchange near the future site of the Ag Expo campus. The ceremony included a keynote address from Missouri Director of Agriculture, Richard Fordyce.
The interchange will literally pave the way for the rest of the development. As part of the infrastructure work for the project – such as grading, water management and other utilities – the interchange will enable development of the commercial side of the project, with construction on the exposition center to begin soon after that.
The Ag Expo business model will create opportunities for agricultural exhibitions, vocational training, workforce development, research, education and private industry such as hotels, restaurants and retail. The campus will be a destination site, housing a collection of indoor and outdoor venues. This $72,000,000 project is one of the largest endeavors Northwest Missouri has ever seen to advance the economy and quality of life for individuals, families and businesses.
The Ag Expo also recently received more than $1,900,000 in tax credits for contributions from the Missouri Development Finance Board (MDFB). This program allows area corporations, funders and individuals to use the tax credits to support the development of the campus. For more information about the Ag Expo, click here.
