Park House, also known as Alumni House, is one of the very first things to see upon arriving at Park University. Sitting at the top of the main entrance, resides the little white house. With hopeful plans of the new business school being built in its current location come concerns about what will happen with the house.

Park House was originally built in 1845 for the Park family and is said to be not only the oldest building on campus, but in Parkville as well. The house’s original location was in the middle of what is now Missouri Route 9. It was moved to its current location in 1967 when the highway was being built, and the university redesigned the entrance. Filled with history and character, it holds a very special place in the hearts of Park alumni.

Over the years the house has been the home of faculty, a university museum, storage and the Alumni Center. It is currently the office for the special events team at Park. Alisha Blackwelder, special events manager and Park alumna, has been working in the house for the past 14 years.

“This building has a lot of history, but it is exciting to have new things happening to the university,” said Blackwelder.

Chief Financial Officer Brian Bode is head of operations for this plan.

“It’s a tough situation,” said Bode. “President Gunderson spoke at the alumni reunion and informed the association that their help was needed to raise $100,000 to move the house.”

The cost of moving the house is between $150,000-$200,000. This will be a difficult move due to the duct and electrical work that was added into the basement when the house was relocated the first time.

There is also an issue of where the house would relocate to, if these plans worked out.

“If we raise enough money for it, we will come up with the really difficult task of figuring out where it’s going to go,” said Bode.

The new business school being built would open a lot of doors for the university. Moving business majors into a more permanent location and centralizing faculty offices into Mackay Hall would improve efficiency on the business end of things.