Accelerated housing development bringing new life to KC’s vacant lots

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Kansas City has launched an accelerated housing development with a plan to redevelop 46 lots in the city’s Washington-Wheatley neighborhood into single-family homes.

“There’s plenty of people who’d love to live here. There’s just not the houses but there’s plenty of space to build the houses,” said resident Anthony Garth.

Garth’s family bought their house in the neighborhood in the 1940′s and have lived there for generations. The city says the neighborhood has 95 acres of vacant land with a total of 3,000 vacant lots in the third district.

“They need to do something with that,” he said.

He says he looks forward to the new homes being built, but hopes the change won’t stop there.

“You’ve got to go to the suburbs to get five guys and all those nice places to eat. They’re just, they’re not down here and I think it could work,” said Garth.

With the redevelopment, housing stock will go up and the cost of housing should go down. The plan is to improve the quality of life for existing residents and bring new ones in.

“Crime is really a product of poverty and so when you live in a depressed area that’s been chronically underinvested in, people are stressed out and they might do bad things.” said city councilwoman Melissa Patterson-Hazley.

She says the land has been vacant for years and this is how the city plans to put it to good use.

“If you lived in this neighborhood and you had to drive by this vacancy, regardless if it’s just grass everyday. It could have an emotional impact on you and so we really hope to help the neighbors that are here by bringing more housing and more neighbors to the area,” said Patterson-Hazley.

For people like Garth who have lived in the neighborhood for generations, he feels things are changing for the better.

“I support it, it would be great,” said Garth.

The project boundaries span from 18th Street to 27th Street and Prospect Avenue to Interstate 70 and will be funded through both city and tax dollars.

The city is hoping to secure additional private funding and is currently accepting proposals from developers which will determine the final cost. The plan is for them to complete construction within the next 18 months.

Those interested in applying can review the Housing Accelerator program request for proposal. To learn more about the program and application process, the following workshops are open to the public (registration is required):

• Monday, May 13: 1 pm-4 pm at the Gregg-Klice Community Center (1600 E 17th Ter., Kansas City, MO 64108)
• Wednesday, May 15: 9 am-12 pm at the Seton Center (2816 E 23rd St, Kansas City, MO 64127