KSHB 41 reporter Fernanda Silva covers stories in the Northland. She has been extensively covering the redevelopment and recent fires at Parade Park Homes. She also focuses on issues surrounding immigration. Share your story idea with Fernanda.
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The Kansas City Fire Department told KSHB 41 Northland and immigration reporter Fernanda Silva they have fought 11 fires at Parade Park Homes since Thanksgiving. Two of those fires happened on Wednesday, and during one of those, a firefighter fell through a hole.
The firefighter was not injured and immediately returned to work.
“When you go back to the same place over and over again, it can be a little bit frustrating,” said Riley Nolan, a Battalion Chief with the Kansas City, Missouri, Fire Department. “It's a dangerous situation, though. We always want to make sure we're aware of our surroundings.”
Neighbors are asking when demolition will start.
Arthur Bryant's BBQ reopened in mid-January after two months of water damage repairs. Now they're dealing with a different frustration — the fires breaking out across the street from the restaurant.
“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,” said Taylor Tobin, general manager at Arthur Bryant's Barbeque.
Neighbors have unanswered questions about the development.
On Monday, we spoke with John Mika, owner of Venus Automotive Body Shop. He said he’s surprised the city's Dangerous Buildings Department hasn’t stepped in.
“Tearing the buildings down and sending them a bill for it,” Mika said.
We took Mika's concerns to the city.
Officials said the Dangerous Buildings Department can be a pathway that leads to demolition — but in this case,"the site is already scheduled for demolition through an existing process," according to city officials.
On Wednesday, developers said they don’t have a definitive date for demolition.
The demolition of Parade Park Homes was originally scheduled for December 2025. After developers received $9 million in public funds, the timeline was moved to the end of January. On Monday, Jason Parson told me demolition was "about a week or so away."
Parson is with Parson + Associates LLC, the company hired by developers Twelfth Street Heritage and Flaherty & Collins to assist with communications.
“I wouldn't say things are delayed,” Parson said. “Work has started. It just hasn't started in the traditional sense of having buildings come down.”
He says pre-demolition work is underway at the same time the city says the property is "undergoing environmental remediation to remove asbestos prior to demolition."
“If demolition hasn't started in the next few weeks, we certainly will have a timeline for when to expect that to happen,” Parson said.
“It's kind of frustrating just to see it get pushed back and pushed back and pushed back,” Tobin said.
Developers have added cameras and fences to help prevent people from trespassing.
During our time at Parade Park on Monday and Wednesday, we saw gaps in the fencing where people could still access the area.
“We remain committed to trying to provide as much protection for the community and being as proactive as we possibly can,” Parson said.
Kansas City police say they are directing more overnight patrols to the area, and the city is actively adding additional security measures around the points of entry to the buildings.
“I definitely think it could have an impact on the business that we're doing,” Tobin said.
At Arthur Bryant's, they're hopeful the only smoke in the area will be coming from their BBQ pit.
“I just can't wait to see the changes start to happen,” said Tobin.
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