KSHB 41 reporter Claire Bradshaw covers eastern Jackson County, including Blue Springs and Grain Valley. Share your story idea with Claire.
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New single-family homes and apartments are bringing revitalization to downtown Blue Springs neighborhoods.
Since 2024, the City of Blue Springs has issued nearly 400 building permits for new single-family homes, with eight of those located in the downtown area.
While new construction is uncommon for such an old part of town, one developer is focusing on the neighborhood to support nearby businesses and benefit from upcoming revitalization.
RC McAtee Construction has multiple ongoing builds near downtown. There is a single-family house almost finished on 15th Street with more lots approved six months ago. Another build is located at 800 SW South Ave., and across from that, the city council recently approved 12 more lots.
"I live in Blue Springs, and I'm a big proponent of enhancing the downtown area. And in order for that to happen, I think we need to have more residents," Chad McAtee said. "I think by getting more people to actually live within the downtown area, we'll continue to progress the commercial aspect of what downtown is hoping to do."
McAtee said the homes will be affordable due to smaller lot sizes. He anticipates the price for each being somewhere in the mid $300,000 range.
Teresa Hogan Keene, executive director of Downtown Blue Springs nonprofit, said a focus on improving downtown will mean more people attending the local events on Main Street.
"Right now in the way of development, you have a lot of developers who are looking to create kind of like communities and they're doing it you know with new development trying to use multi-use property but we are the original multi-use community," said Hogan Keene. "So what you're seeing is a reinvestment into those downtown communities where we can provide a place where people can live, work and play."
In 2024, the city council also approved apartments to go in at the lumberyard further down Main Street. When that development gets moving, even more people will potentially be living in the downtown area.
Bond-funded downtown revitalization is still slated to begin this spring.
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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