KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The former Westport Middle School building sat empty for years until Hyde Park Development Partners bought it. It was first a co-working space. Now it's Park 39 and a hub for many local nonprofits.
Among the nonprofits that moved into the building, Literacy KC, is the latest.
"Its hard to find space that is enough, affordable, looks good, you know, feels good," said Literacy KC's CEO Gillian Helm. "You want to offer a space that has a sense of dignity and purpose behind it to your clients."
It was important for David Brain and the Hyde Park Development Partners to keep the exterior as it was and not tear down the building.
"It's a kind of storied part of Kansas City and a beautiful part of Kansas City," Brain, the company's CEO, said. "Really was a less than positive thing in the neighborhood when the buildings were dark, and what we wanted to do was something productive."
The space allows for KC nonprofits to collaborate. Being about a block away from the streetcar stop at 39th and Main streets is another added bonus.
"Lots of our students rely on public transportation," Helm said. "The streetcar is going to be a great perk. It already is."
Brain said he's already seen other spaces in the neighborhood change, and he knows it's not the last.
"New investment coming into the area, I think it is something that creates a momentum that other people will connect with," Brain said.
