KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Demolition began Tuesday at two Kansas City, Missouri, sites that have long-awaited a fresh start.
Heavy machinery was thrust into action in the 18th and Vine District to demolish the Parade Park Homes and in south KCMO to level the former Paul Robeson Middle School.
The office of Mayor Quinton Lucas said the demolition of both sites marks key progress in the city’s “continued commitment to removing blight, enhancing public safety and creating new housing opportunities in historic Kansas City neighborhoods.”
Since Thanksgiving, KCFD has fought 12 fires at Parade Park Homes.
KSHB 41’s Fernanda Silva has covered the area extensively as the repeated fires at the decrepit apartment complex have affected the neighborhood.
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“The last thing I want is for our business or any other business around here is to take any damage or lose business over things they can't control,” Taylor Tobin, general manager at Arthur Bryant's Barbeque, told Silva last week.
Parade Park Homes was originally scheduled to be demolished in December, but the developers decided to delay the timeline to the end of January after receiving $9 million in public funds.
Funding approval was cited as the delay until the end of January. But just before that deadline, on Jan. 26, the developers said demolition had to be slightly delayed, “about a week or so away."
The final delay was due to the continued fires, despite additional police patrols and added security measures, like fences and cameras.
But finally, Tuesday was a step forward for the future of the property, a $300 million affordable home redevelopment by Flaherty & Collins that broke ground in October.
The site of the second demolition project, the former Paul Robeson Middle School and Jewish Community Center, has sat vacant for nearly two decades.
Situated in the Waldo Tower neighborhood at 8201 Holmes Road, the former school was described by one longtime resident as an “eyesore.”
The property owner, Sean Pickett, previously told KSHB 41’s Megan Abundis he grew up in the area, so he understands how important it is to come out on the other side of this "long process."
"It matters. The project is a good project for the community,” Pickett said.
His plan includes a community center and sports fields.
"I would definitely use it," neighbor Nicholas Hoof told Abundis.
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The city said the historic preservation review of the former school finished up in January, making way for the “end of years of neglect and the beginning of new opportunities for development that will strengthen the surrounding community.”
Lucas said the demolition at Parade Park Homes and Paul Robeson Middle School ushers in a new chapter of progress for the city.
"At Parade Park, we're honoring a legacy while building for the future. At Robeson, we're reclaiming a site that has been sitting abandoned and decayed for nearly two decades,” Lucas said in a news release. “Both represent our commitment to ensuring every neighborhood in Kansas City can move forward with dignity and opportunity."
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