KSHB 41 reporter Fernanda Silva covers stories in the Northland. She has been extensively covering the redevelopment and recent fires at Parade Park Homes. She also focuses on issues surrounding immigration. Share your story idea with Fernanda.
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Parade Park Homes developers say demolition is about a week away, but neighbors say they remain concerned, as fires have been an ongoing problem.
John Mika owns Venus Automotive Body Shop. His business is located behind Parade Park Homes.
“It looks like a war zone," Mika said. "Like when bombs go off. I’m worried about the fire spreading to our building and causing a major problem. I can’t afford to lose our building, our business.”
He has been waiting for demolition since October — when city leaders and developers, Twelfth Street Heritage and Flaherty & Collins, broke ground on the $300 million redevelopment project.
“So far, nothing,” he said.
The demolition of Parade Park Homes was originally scheduled for December 2025. Because developers received $9 million in public funds, the timeline was moved to the end of January.
On Monday, Jason Parson, of Parson + Associates LLC, the company hired by the developers to assist with communications, said demolition is “about a week or so away."
According to Parson, pre-demolition work has already started.
“It’s been the ugliest thing we’ve had to deal with the whole time we’ve been here,” Mika said.
The Kansas City, Missouri, Fire Department said they’ve responded to nine fires at the abandoned development since Thanksgiving.
Developers have added fences and tower cameras to the area. They say they’ve also increased security patrols. But that hasn’t stopped the fires.
“To come back to the same properties over and over again can be frustrating,” said Michael Hopkins, Battalion Chief and spokesperson for the Kansas City Fire Department, in an interview in December 2025.
The KCFD says they’ve responded to at least two fires since the new security measures were put in place, the most recent on January 15.
During our time at Parade Park on Monday, we saw gaps in the fencing where people could still access the area.
Port KC was scheduled on Monday to discuss approving $600 million in conduit bonds to finance the development of Parade Park. That meeting was postponed due to technical difficulties with the online chat.
While waiting for improvements in the neighborhood, John Mika has just one wish — “I hope that happens,” he said.
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