Developer abandons plan to demolish row of old buildings

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The controversial plan to turn a block-long stretch of old Kansas City, Mo., buildings into a parking lot has been scrapped.

MAC Property Management owns four boarded-up buildings on West Armour Boulevard between Wyandotte and Baltimore Streets. The company planned to demolish the buildings and install a parking lot for other nearby tenants to use.

Now, MAC spokesman Peter Cassel said the company has withdrawn its request for demolition and has taken the buildings off the market.

Cassel said MAC was willing to sell the buildings to a qualified developer, but none have stepped forward, yet. He said the decision was also made in the interest of many neighbors who wanted to save the structures.

While MAC had planned to tear down the buildings, Cassel said the company has created 800 apartment units in the Midtown area over the past five years.