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Midtown Kansas City residents are fighting to keep the Rockhill Tennis Club open, while trustees of the nearby Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art want to use the structure (which it owns) for office space.
At stake: the future of the Rockhill Tennis Club, a midtown institution since 1915.
This is one of those classic Kansas City stories.
On one side are the civic elites on the Nelson’s Board of Trustees — including Don Hall Jr., Henry W. Bloch, Richard Green Jr., Shirley Helzberg, Tom McDonnell, Bob Regnier and Estelle Sosland. These are people used to getting their way, especially after they have poured $200-plus million into a better Nelson.
The trustees own the tennis club northeast of 46th Street and Rockhill Road. They want to rehab the building and use it for office space for three dozen or so employees.
On the other side are residents of the historic Rockhill and Southmoreland neighborhoods, who want to keep the tennis club open. They also don’t want offices intruding on a residential neighborhood.
The rancorous dispute has angered trustees and neighborhood leaders.
The trail of discord so far:
• On March 6, the City Council approved a resolution that said it was important for the city to “preserve the residential character of their neighborhoods and to maintain Rockhill Tennis Club’s continued use....”
(The resolution as well as other documents mentioned in this column can be found at http://www.southmoreland.org/ . Click on “Nelson Museum eviction of the Rockhill Club.”)
City Council member Beth Gottstein said she sponsored that resolution because “you have to have balance” in the city, especially when it comes to protecting “fragile midtown neighborhoods.” Gottstein also quickly praised the Nelson for being an iconic institution.
• On April 2, Estelle Sosland, chairwoman of the trustees, fired back with a somewhat testy letter to Mayor Mark Funkhouser and the council.
The council’s March 6 resolution “reflects, at best, limited awareness of the matter at hand,” Sosland wrote.
At another point, she asked “are we charged with maintaining an exclusive private meeting venue for the Rockhill Tennis Club?” (Sosland’s answer a sentence later: No.)
Sosland said the tennis club had been told in 2004 that its lease would end on Dec. 31, 2009.
• On April 15, neighborhood leaders Jim Wanser (Rockhill), Greg Corwin (Southmoreland) and Marshall Miller (Rockhill) sent their own letter to elected officials.
The key statements were that the Nelson trustees had not actively engaged in trying to work out a compromise, and that the club was essential to “our ability to retain and attract new residents into midtown.”
• The City Plan Commission is preparing for a June 3 meeting on a proposed zoning ordinance, which is aimed at preventing the Nelson from using the tennis club for offices.
Neighborhood residents want either a long-term lease at the tennis club or for the Nelson to sell the structure, then build its offices nearby.
But Museum Director Marc Wilson demurs. He opposes the council’s proposed ordinance. He said Wednesday that attractive landscaping would replace the tennis courts and more or less surround a renovated building.
At this point, this seems like a fight the neighbors are destined to lose.
While the tennis club certainly is an amenity, people move into those neighborhoods because they are close to the rejuvenated Nelson as well as the nearby Country Club Plaza, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, UMKC and other institutions.
The good news for the neighbors is that the lease does not expire for another 20 months. That allows plenty of time for this battle to rage on — and for reaching a make-everyone-happy compromise.
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