What’s next for Spoon River College’s former Macomb campus?

MACOMB (WGEM) - The building that previously housed Spoon River College’s Macomb Campus is about to enter a new chapter.

Spoon River recently accepted Macomb CUSD 185’s bid to purchase the building.

Built in 1914, the building was originally home to Macomb High School, but was eventually sold to Spoon River College in the 1980s. Spoon River occupied the space until it moved to it’s new location in 2025.

Now, the Macomb School District is purchasing the building back.

“When they put it up for auction, the school board had a good conversation about being concerned who our neighbor might be and what might happen to the building if it’s just left unchecked,” Superintendent Patrick Twomey said.

The building is located next to the district office and Washington Street Gym.

“The rule of thumb is when a property becomes available that’s adjacent to the school, if it makes sense and if it’s affordable, it’s a good idea for a district to purchase that property for unknown uses in the future,” Twomey said.

At this point, Twomey said the school board has not made a final decision on what to do with the property. However, he said the building can not be restored.

“Prior to the auction, we went through the building with both our facilities director and our architect and at that time, we determined that the building was not salvageable,” Twomey said.

Twomey explained the cost of fixing the building would be too expensive, saying it has water damage, the roof units and elevators don’t work, part of the roof needs fixed and all of the windows need to be replaced.

The property holds a lot of history and while it’s future is still being decided, Twomey said the district’s goal is to put in something the whole community can be happy with.

“For instance, the bricks that that building is made out of were made right here in Macomb and so there is a lot of history attached to that building and to this community and so we just hope the end result is something that everyone can get behind and say this pays good tribute to a place where a lot of people in this community attended,” Twomey said.

One possible idea that has been discussed for the site is to transform it into an alumni park, which would be a green space featuring trees and benches.

The sale of the building has not officially closed yet. Once that’s finished, Twomey said decisions on its future can get underway.