'Something needs to be done': Mission Gateway foreclosure clears court hurdle, local group eyeing property

MISSION, Kan. — KSHB 41 reporter Elyse Schoenig covers Johnson County. She also focuses on issues surrounding the cost of healthcare, saving for retirement and personal debt. Share your story idea with Elyse.

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The foreclosure process for Mission Gateway, the former site of the Mission Mall, can move forward after a Johnson County District Court judge resolved all outstanding litigation tied to the property.

The resolution came late on Oct. 2. The city of Mission said R.H. Johnson Company, a privately held real estate company, has entered an agreement that contemplates acquiring the site.

The city said "no timelines, processes, submittals or information beyond what is included in the release" is currently available, but called the court ruling "meaningful progress."

Residents have referred to Mission Gateway as an eyesore, as it has sat dilapidated for two decades.

Howard Richman, a nearby neighbor, first reached out to me earlier this year after seeing some of my reporting on this story.

John Batten / KSHB

"The news is good to hear," Richman said. "I'm going to be a little skeptical and more hopeful that something good will happen."

For Richman, the former mall carries history. He said he remembers hearing stories from his dad about the impact of the 1977 flood to the Mission Mall. He also said he went there as a kid himself.

"I learned about that mall and what it meant back then, a long time ago," Richman said. "Getting baseball, basketball cards...I loved collecting stuff like that, and shopped a lot over there."

After two decades of failed redevelopments, his patience has been tested.

"In sports terms, it's gone overtime like a million overtimes. Something needs to be done," Richman said.

City officials declined my interview request. Earlier this year, I spoke with Mission City Council President Ben Chociej, who acknowledged Mission Gateway feels like the elephant in the room.

"Sometimes it does, but I understand why people are curious about it," Chociej said in April.

Richman said he still has lingering questions about what comes next for the site.

"What's going to go there? How are they going to clean all that up?" Richman said.

Despite years of disappointment, he said he remains hopeful that this chapter of the site's history does not repeat.

"I'm trying to be the glass half full on this and hope something happens, but we'll see. I mean, it's kind of been let's wait and see for too many let's wait and sees," Richman said.

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