KSHB 41 reporter Elyse Schoenig covers the cities of Shawnee and Mission. She also focuses on issues surrounding the cost of health care, saving for retirement and personal debt. Share your story idea with Elyse.
This is a huge deal for the city of Shawnee, and it’s been a long time coming.
The former Wonderscope Children's Museum building, at 5700 King Avenue in Shawnee, has sat abandoned since 2020. Before that, it was an elementary school.
The Shawnee Planning Commission has now approved plans for 40 apartments at the site.
I first reported on this this summer when some viewers brought this to my attention at our Let’s Talk series in Shawnee. They were wondering if anything was ever going to happen here.
They’ve felt like all the plans up to here have been rushed, or not the right fit for the neighborhood.
"I'm really thrilled that this seems just kind of right on the money for what everybody was asking for originally," Carrie Griffin, a Shawnee resident, said.
But they feel a sigh of relief when looking at the most recent plans.
"I think it'll bring in maybe some new families, some younger families, which is good for the area," Shawnee resident John Warren said. "Kind of breathes some new life into the old Shawnee area."
