The Missouri Senate has voted to approve $48 million in funding for a new downtown campus for the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance.
The $96 million project, which would relocate the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance to the block immediately south of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, is seeking $48 million in state bond funding to match private and city contributions already lined up.
The Missouri House approved funding in March. On Thursday, senators voted 28-4 in favor of issuing the bonds.
Final approval will require a signature by Missouri Gov. Eric Grietens, whose spokesman did not immediately reply to KCUR's questions about whether the governor supports the project.
If Grietens signs off, the campus would likely not be completed for three years, Bob Simmons, associate vice chancellor for facilities at UMKC, told KCUR in March.
C.J. Janovy is an arts reporter for KCUR 89.3. You can find her on Twitter, @cjjanovy.
