KSHB 41 reporter Megan Abundis covers Kansas City, Missouri, including neighborhoods in the southern part of the city. Share your story idea with Megan.
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A vacant middle school that has sat empty for over two decades in south Kansas City, Missouri, may finally see action after Mayor Quinton Lucas announced legislation to force an ownership change.
The old Paul Robeson Middle School, located at 82nd Street and Holmes Road, has been co-owned by Sean Pickett since 2018.
However, neighbors say they haven't seen meaningful improvements to the deteriorating property. The building is covered in graffiti, has broken windows, and growing vines, with people seen entering the unsecured structure.
RELATED | Plans move forward to redevelop vacant Paul Robeson Middle School site in Kansas City, Missouri
"Our patience has run out," Lucas said.
The mayor is pushing legislation to mandate an ownership change after what he describes as years of unfulfilled promises.
"Since 2018, no visible improvements have been made to the Robeson School. While the owner claims work is ongoing, basic maintenance like lawn mowing, graffiti clean-up, and weed removal have been neglected. Kicking the can down the road into a spring deadline for new soccer fields is unrealistic when fundamental upkeep isn't being addressed and hasn't been for a generation. The community deserves better, Kansas City deserves better, and we will deliver that through our legislation." -MQL
Angie Lile, president of the Waldo Tower Neighborhood Association, has watched the site deteriorate for nearly two decades.
"We were really surprised, we didn't even know it was on the city's radar," Lile said of the mayor's involvement. "We welcome any action that the city can provide."
When Pickett purchased the property in 2018, he presented plans including a community pool, basketball courts, and retirement living facilities.
"We really wanted to see his project succeed, who doesn't want a community pool, basketball courts inside and out, and my personal favorite was the retirement living situation," Lile said. "I am so sad, this is very sad, the condition is really, really sad."
Both the Waldo Tower and Marlborough neighborhoods signed community benefits agreements in 2018, filled with hope for improvement.
"I was the president in 2018 when we signed the community benefits agreement," Lile said.
However, Lile and other neighbors have grown skeptical of Pickett's repeated promises and loose timelines.
"We're not really confident with the timelines he's been giving," Lile said. "The person who's behind this plan isn't going to be the person who can execute this plan."
Sean Pickett has maintained his commitment to the project, telling KSHB 41 that he has every intention of moving forward with demolition this year and has a five-phase plan. He said he has recently worked on the track and laid grass seed down.
"I haven't gone away and I'm not going away, I've made a promise to the community that this is what it's going to be," Pickett said.
Pickett recently attended a September Waldo Tower Neighborhood Association meeting to provide updates.
"We were really surprised that the owner was at the meeting. He was there, he gave us an update, but it was just more of the same of what we've been hearing," Lile said.
She said she heard more loose timelines from Pickett during the meeting.
In a video from the meeting, Pickett could be heard making another commitment.
"I am going to continue to be a developer that's going to be held accountable," Pickett said.
KSHB 41 News showed up and saw Kansas City, Missouri, Fire Department investigators at the site. They had received complaints that the building wasn't properly boarded up and people were entering and exiting freely.
I previously observed people inside the vacant school throwing items from the second floor.
City leaders will discuss potential enforcement measures on Tuesday, Sept. 30.
"We're ready," Lile said.
Kansas City Public Schools no longer owns the property but continues to communicate with the neighborhood about the new owner's plans.
KCPS sent a statement that reads below.
Robeson was sold in 2018 following extensive community engagement and strong support for the selected development team. While redevelopment efforts have experienced delays, we recognize and share the community’s concerns regarding current site conditions. KCPS remains committed to facilitating ongoing dialogue between the developer and neighborhood stakeholders.
At a KCPS public event last Saturday, the developer provided an update, announcing that demolition is scheduled to begin before the end of the year. This will allow athletic fields to be ready for use by spring. We will continue working in partnership with the developer, the community, and the city to ensure meaningful progress and the successful reactivation of the Robeson site.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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