25 acres of empty fields and cracked roads northwest of 63rd Street and Prospect Avenue is getting a new breath of life. The Kansas City Council voted to approve a redevelopment plan, including 300 units of mixed-income housing, a hotel, a supermarket + restaurants.
In the present, barricades block the roads into the acreage. Beyond them, roads fall aways into weeds. What could be a 3x3 block of neighborhoods is just a field of grass.
How did this blight happen?
Property records show that there were homes on this land ~20 years ago. Between 2003-2006, these homes were demolished — as shown in city permits like this.
Heather Brown, the managing projects director of the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, told KCtoday that a developer wanted to build a grocery store and other retail.
“Many of the homes were demolished by the developer improperly, resulting in environmental contamination,” she said.
The plans were nixed. Afterward, a legal battle and lots of cleanup brought us to today.
The Southpointe Development Plan
UrbanAmerica has been chosen to revamp the 25-acre site. The city controls the site through a 99-year lease with the Tax Increment Financing Commission — an entity that pays to fix blight. There are 6 phases:
- 1: A 300-unit multi-family building and a 120-key extended stay hotel
- 2: A supermarket and 3 mixed-use buildings with offices and retail
- 3 + 4: 2 big-box retail stores, up to 3 restaurants, and a gas station
- 5 + 6: Self storage and additional businesses
The plan also sets deadlines on the phases:
- 2 years for Phase 1
- 5 years for Phase 2
- 8 years for all phases
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