Kansas City City Council approved Master Plan District status to the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences last week.
For many in northeast Kansas City who fought to preserve the 100-year-old Colonial Apartments, the designation was a heart-felt loss. However, some are more concerned over the Master Plan designation itself than seeing the apartments torn down.
"Any historic districts, it knocks out any of that previous, collaborative planning that's been done, and allows them to do whatever they like,” said Historic Kansas Foundation board member, Manny Abarca.
The northeast Kansas City resident feels KCU’s Master Plan designation sets a dangerous precedent. He believes such a designation allows destruction of historic buildings without having to appear before the city council first.
"If a developer can do this here in the northeast, why can't they do it anywhere throughout Kansas City,” he said.
Quinton Lucas is one of the city council members who approved of the Master Plan and of KCU’s expansion.
"Kansas City appreciates historic preservation,” he said.
Lucas told 41 Action News that people shouldn’t be worried about historic buildings being knocked down without city approval, even while under a Master Plan. The councilman said that a Master Plan is simply a more cohesive plan that will allow KCU to save time and expenses, and if they were to tear down historic buildings without approval first, there may be legal consequences.
"You manage to avoid some of the hurdles to development. But when it's a significant hurdle, you still have to come back before city council or you'll have to come up with some legal challenges as to why the demolition is appropriate,” he said. "So they don't come to city planning for every individualized change, every zoning modification or anything like that. You're trying to do it in advance, to avoid expense, to save time, and to make sure the developers plans are on file with the city in advance."
The City of Kansas City sent the following as a description regarding the definition of a Master Plan:
The MPD, Master Planned Development district is intended to accommodate development that may be difficult if not impossible to carry out under otherwise applicable zoning district standards. Examples of the types of development that may benefit from the MPD zoning tool include the following:
- Enhanced protection of natural resource areas: Developments that offer enhanced protection of natural resources and sensitive environmental features, including streams, water bodies, floodplains, wetlands, steep slopes, woodlands, wildlife habitats, and native plant communities.
- Traditional urban development: Developments characterized by lot configurations, street patterns, streetscapes, and neighborhood amenities commonly found in urban neighborhoods platted or otherwise created before the 1950s.
- Mixed use development: Developments that contain a complementary mix of residential and nonresidential uses.
- Mixed using development: Residential developments containing a mix of housing types such as detached house, attached house, multi-unit house, etc., such as those formerly approved with a community unit project application.
Regardless of the current outcome, Abarca said that Historic Kansas City will be well prepared to fight to preserve any other buildings they deem historic, and hope to improve collaboration efforts with new developers.
"We want any development that happens in the northeast to be positive and collaborative with the community. And not just coming in to maximize profits,” said Abarca.
So what is KCU building?
As a compromise with northeast KC neighborhoods, the university will be replacing the 100-year-old Colonial Court Apartments with two used homes that will be moved to the lot, which will face Maple Street. They will also renovate the current Colonial Court Apartments parking lot instead of building a new one. And they will add a new ‘Simulation Center’ building to the site, along with more “green space.”
A brief statement from KCU reads:
"A stone bungalow home at 1800 Brownell is slated to be moved to the Colonial Courts site, and there will be ample space to accommodate the construction of an adjacent new home as well. Both homes will face Maple Blvd and create a more subtle, residential buffer between the campus and the neighborhood."
A Queen Anne home at 1812 Brownell is slated to be moved to the far east end of Brownell, also facing Maple.
None of the Colonial Court apartments will remain.
The school says they also plan to build a new student health and wellness center, with the site of the project to be determined.
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Josh Helmuth can be reached at josh.helmuth@kshb.com
