JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) - Ground has been broken on a medical school campus in Joplin.
Officials from the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences were on hand Wednesday to mark the start of work on the new campus. It will be located in the former temporary medical building that was set up after a deadly 2011 tornado destroyed Mercy Hospital Joplin.
Supporters say it will help recruit doctors to southwest Missouri and alleviate a doctor shortage, particularly in rural areas. The university plans to enroll 150 students per year in its osteopathic program.
Joplin Mayor Mike Seibert said the school is expected to generate an estimated $111 million in the local economy.
Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences officials said the campus would be the first new medical school to open in Missouri in nearly 50 years.
Kansas City University President Marc Hahn said construction to renovate the building will begin next week.
"We break ground for a new medical school and the birth of a new opportunity," Hahn said. "KCU Joplin is proud to be a part of this community, to be a part of the community, which is emerging brighter and more resilient than ever. It is indeed like the phoenix rising from the ashes."
A concrete lecture hall that'll double as a storm shelter that meets Federal Emergency Management Standards will be among the renovations.
Southwest Missouri companies will do the majority of the subcontractor work, which totals nearly $20 million. Work is projected to be completed by April 2017.