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.
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Residents in Shawnee say they're still waiting for the right development to replace the former Wonderscope Children's Museum building, at 5700 King Avenue, that has sat vacant since 2019.
"It gives this feeling of blight in an area where it's not," said John Warren, who has lived down the street from the property for almost 20 years.
Shawnee Chamber of Commerce president Ann Smith-Tate said developers are actively exploring the site and that preserving and reworking the original building is the goal.
She also said they want to balance what neighbors want with something realistic that the market can hold.
Smith-Tate hopes discussions with neighbors can start as soon as late summer or early fall.
"I think it's better to have nothing happen and wait for the right thing, then to just jump at the first opportunity that pops up," Warren said.
Developers proposed an apartment complex for the location back in 2020, something Warren and his neighbors, like Carrie Griffin, advocated against.
"That's when we jumped into action and started alerting our neighbors," said Griffin, a lifelong Shawnee resident.
She used to live right across from the site.
Townhomes were also approved for the site in 2021, but that project never came through.
Griffin believes a farmer's market or even the previously approved townhomes would be better options for the neighborhood. She said a community survey done around 2018 in Shawnee reflected those results.
"We would like something very thoughtful and mindful of the neighborhood to be developed here," Griffin said.
Both Warren and Griffin continue to watch developments for the site, hoping for an outcome that fits the community's character.
"It's just essential that they have the right fit, the right feel," Griffin said.
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