Earlier this summer, Drury University bought 700 N. Benton Avenue, the home of the infamous gas station that sold popcorn on the corner of Chestnut and Benton. While many faculty members were excited by the purchase, some students were not so pleased.

“I’m not a huge fan of the university buying nearby property,” said senior Payton Jackson.  “I feel that the money could be better spent bringing in top-level talent to be on campus.”

A New Look for Drury

However, administration involved in the 25-year Drury Master Plan, which includes the property of this new purchase, believes this to be a net positive for the university.

According to Drury’s chief of staff, David Hinson, this purchase is all about making campus safer and more connected.

Hinson stated, “we’re not looking to encroach additionally into midtown.”

In fact, it was the property’s owner Phil Swanson who first approached the university about the purchase.

Swanson has officially sold 730 N. Benton to Drury, which is the building just past the gas station. The deal with the 700 N. Benton property is still ongoing. Drury is waiting for a No Further Action (NFA) letter from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to ensure no soil testing or remediation will need to be done because of its many years of use as a gas station.

While there have been complaints by students about the purchase because it has shut down a gas station that was conveniently close to campus, the location could have been in jeopardy of being sold or shut down in the near future anyway, depending on the results of the tests.

According to Hinson, the plan is to “raze the existing structures, remove them and create a new entryway for the school.”

He hopes that this will help bring the university back together and renew the “connective tissue” lost in some of the more recent expansions.

Change is a Good Thing

Jackson stated he would “appreciate a more open line of dialogue between the administration and the students” when it came to the purchase of local businesses.

He said, “I have learned more about incidents on campus from the [Springfield] News-Leader than I have from statements from the university.”

Hinson, however, said Drury put out a press release, which is how local journalism sources were made aware of the purchase in the first place. Hopefully, clearing up this confusion will relieve some of the friction between faculty and staff on this particular issue.

Article written by Jacob Maher.