KSHB 41 reporter Megan Abundis covers Kansas City, Missouri, including neighborhoods in the southern part of the city. Share your story idea with Megan.
—
If Grandview Mayor Leonard Jones' vision becomes reality, the multiple housing projects underway will help him meet a new population goal for the city.
Jones is aiming to increase the population to 30,000 residents.
In multiple places around Grandview, new homes are planned.
Off the Blue Ridge Boulevard extension, Jones said 40 Falcon Trails townhomes will be finished by the end of the year.
Across from Grandview's City Hall, Jones said another 60 homes, named the Goode Avenue Town Homes, are planned to be completed in 2026-2027.
Jones also said the River Oaks Community is adding another 40 townhomes and single-family homes.
"It was greenspace for decades, almost centuries, and now, hey, something is coming," Jones said.
The mayor explained these projects aim to add at least another 400 people to the city's current population, a step in the right direction for the roughly 4,000 people the city will need to get to his goal.
"The census just approved us at 26,433 people," Jones said.
The mayor's goal is to reach a population of 30,000 people, which could create additional funding opportunities.
"That's a threshold we are seeing, and we want to get there as quickly as we can," Jones said.
He knows more people moving to Grandview equals more tax incentives from federal and state governments, which benefits various community services.
"Those incentives are very important; that determines your teachers, administrators," he said. "The school district is excited that there is growth because that is exactly what they see; the school district gets a big chunk of those tax dollars."
Business owners are also noticing and welcoming the changes along Main Street and beyond.
"We need that money to fix our streets, to help our schools," said Brenda Walker, owner of Salon 3330/Salon Studios.
Walker is all about the community's convenient location and recent development.
"We are local to the highways, easy to get everywhere, we have a great little community in Truman Corners that has really flourished and added extra restaurants. The stores are doing great, we have a grocery store," Walker said.
One of Walker's clients agreed growth is good for Grandview.
"I think that's a lot of people coming in here, but it's great it's growing, developing," said Walker's client Cathie Stilley.
The mayor acknowledged that infrastructure improvements will accompany the population growth.
"We will be going through to re-do Blue Ridge all the way from I-40 to Prospect Avenue," Jones said.
—
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.