KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Neighbors involved in a petition to launch the investigation into the Old Swenson School reached out to Ryan to tell this story. Share your story idea with Ryan.
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Jamie Kehl has lived next to the old Swenson Schoolhouse in Osawatomie, Kansas, for 10 years and calls the building a safety hazard.
"This property has always been an issue," Kehl said.
Kehl and a group of neighbors signed a petition calling for a nuisance and dangerous buildings investigation.
Public records show the developers behind a billion-dollar data center proposal in Osawatomie's Northland own the building.
"They're kind of showing a bad track record to us citizens," Kehl said.
Last week, half of the building was boarded up. The city says it had called Alcove Development about the property before the complaint was filed.
Cell phone videos and pictures obtained by KSHB 41 Miami County Reporter Ryan Gamboa show what is behind the plywood: broken windows, shards of glass and open doors — which were still wide open during a visit to the property on Monday.
Lee Brewer, who opposes the data center project, reached out about the story last week. He says the condition of the building only reinforces his concerns the proposed data center and the developer.
"Just seeing the building like this, it hurts the heart," Brewer explained. "They're showing us with this small project here that they can't handle the large project they are proposing to us."
In a statement to KSHB 41 News, Alcove Development said it purchased the Swenson School property with the goal of bringing affordable senior housing to Osawatomie.
"Alcove Development purchased the Swenson School property with a clear goal: to bring much-needed affordable senior housing to Osawatomie. We have invested significant resources in the project and submitted two applications to the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation for affordable housing tax credits. Both applications were denied, citing the lack of nearby amenities, particularly a grocery store, as a limiting factor. We are still exploring how we could complete this redevelopment project. Affordable housing development is vital and our commitment to bringing quality housing to the communities we work in has not wavered. In the meantime, we are making sure the property is secured and maintained while we explore redevelopment options," according to a statement from GW Weld of Alcove Development.
Kehl's message to the developer is simple.
"Let's get it fixed," Kehl said.
The pre-development agreement
In 2023, the City of Osawatomie entered into a pre-development agreement with Alcove Development, LLC, designating the company as the exclusive developer of the property at 1009 Pacific Avenue for an 18-month period.
Under that agreement with the city, Alcove was required to maintain the property, including mowing the lawn and repairing broken windows.
Osawatomie City Manager Bret Glendening said no formal notices of noncompliance were ever sent to Alcove.
"If the property needed attention, we picked up the phone and called them, which is what happened about a week before the complaint about the property was filed with the city," Glendening said in an email sent to Gamboa on Monday.
Glendening said the pre-development agreement has since expired and that both the city and Alcove complied with the agreement to the extent they could while it was in effect — including site plan approval and rezoning. He said the portions of the agreement that were not fulfilled were a direct result of Alcove not being awarded the low-income housing tax credits.
The agreement also outlined a buy/sell provision under which the city would purchase the property for up to $25,000 — equivalent to 50% of the purchase price — if a final development agreement was not executed within one year of Alcove completing its purchase of the property.
According to county records, Pacific Apartments, LLC, is listed as the property's owner.
Kansas Secretary of State filings for Pacific Apartments, LLC and Alcove Development show the two are operated out of the same address, and have corresponding names tied to the records.
Glendening said the property has been placed on the state and national historic registries and already has historic tax credits.
He said the developer has stated plans to file for low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC) again early next year.
What the city says happens next
Glendening said once the property is fully secured, the city will inspect it to ensure all primary safety concerns have been addressed.
He said the same day the complaint was filed, Alcove purchased all the plywood needed to secure the building and hired a contractor. The following day, the contractor was putting boards on windows at the school building.
Gamboa asked what recourse residents would have if the proposed data center project would not move forward, similar to the current situation with the Old Swenson building, but Glendening says there would be no recourse given there is no building associated with the data center.
"Since there is no physical building associated with the data center, I am unaware of any 'recourse' anyone would have. Deals fall through all the time. This one is merely on paper. No land has changed hands and nothing is built on the land in question," Glendening said in his response
The Old Swenson School building currently has a for sale sign posted on the property.
The city and developer both state there are plans to finish the project, but neither indicated why the property is for sale.
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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