RAYTOWN, Mo. – A recently acquired building in the Kansas City metropolitan area that will house the offices of several state agencies has been dedicated and named in honor of Missouri’s 48th Governor, the late Joseph P. Teasdale. Gov. Jay Nixon today issued an executive order to name the former GE building at 8800 E. 63rd St. in Raytown after Gov. Teasdale, who died in May 2014.
“Gov. Teasdale dedicated much of his life to public service, from serving in the Air Force Reserve and as an Assistant U.S. Attorney to being elected as Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney and then as Governor of Missouri,” Gov. Nixon said. “It is appropriate to remember the dedication and service of this native Kansas Citian to Missouri by naming a state building in Jackson County in his honor.”
Joseph Patrick Teasdale was elected Governor of Missouri in 1976 after a campaign in which he walked across much of Missouri to meet citizens – a campaign that earned him the nickname “Walkin’ Joe.” As Governor, he established Missouri’s first Division of Aging, advocated for those with mental health needs, and oversaw the rewriting of numerous healthcare laws, among other accomplishments.
Before his election as Governor, Joseph Teasdale was elected at the age of 30 as the Prosecuting Attorney for Jackson County in 1966, a position he held until 1972.
At approximately 64,000 square feet, the Joseph Patrick Teasdale State Office Building will contain offices from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Department of Health and Senior Services, the Department of Mental Health, the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Social Services. State agencies will begin moving into the Teasdale State Office Building in 2016.
By consolidating eight other Kansas City-area leases into the Teasdale State Office Building, Gov. Nixon said the state will reduce rent by $629,000 annually and reduce the amount of space leased by the state by 49,500 square feet with more to come as additional space occupied by non-state tenants becomes available. Since taking office in 2009, Gov. Nixon has reduced the amount of state leased space by more than 13 percent, from 3.7 million square feet to 3.2 million square feet.
