PHOTO GALLERY: Deal reached to save Niedermeyer from demolition

March 12, 2013 | 1:26 p.m. CDT

At a news conference Tuesday morning, Brian Treece of the Historic Preservation Commission said the Niedermeyer building, located at 920 Cherry St., will remain a viable and affordable apartment option. An MU professor has stepped forward to buy the property from Collegiate Housing Partners, which planned to demolish the building and build a new apartment building on the land.

Sabra Tull Meyer, left, accepts a most notable historical property plaque from Brian Treece, right, during the announcement the Niedermeyer building will be preserved. Meyer said she plans to hang the plaque on the property. The preservation announcement was Tuesday afternoon. | Breanne Bradley

Elizabeth Gentry Sayad addresses the crowd at the Niedermeyer building preservation announcement Tuesday afternoon. Sayad is the great-granddaughter of Richard Gentry, the founder of the Columbia Female Academy, housed in the Niedermeyer building in 1837. | Breanne Bradley

Amy Hotchkiss cries after learning that the Niedermeyer building will be preserved. Hotchkiss is an MU senior architecture student who has also lived in the Niedermeyer building for two years. | Breanne Bradley

After a long battle that threatened the Niedermeyer building, it was announced Tuesday that Nakhle Asmar, an MU mathematics professor, has reached a tentative agreement with Collegiate Housing Partners to buy the Neidermeyer building. | Whitney Hayward

The inside of the Niedermeyer building maintains some of the original historic character, including the mailboxes in the building lobby.
| Whitney Hayward

A light is on in the lobby of the Niedermeyer building. Through the years, the building has been used as a hotel, a Stephens College building and, most recently, an apartment building. | Whitney Hayward

George, a coonhound, stands Dec. 1970 in the lobby of the Niedermeyer building. | Missourian file photo

Rita Reed relaxes in the lobby of the Niedermeyer Apartments in October 1979. | Missourian file photo

Niedermeyer Apartments residents sit on the front porch in October 1979. | Missourian file photo