COMMENTARY

KCK apartment development preserves a community treasure

My late Aunt Helen Boswell’s home economics classroom was once a vibrant place with washing machines and dryers. There was even a stove.

Now her old classroom is a cozy one-bedroom apartment with brown carpet. LeeRoy Pitts Sr.’s old science room now is a one-bedroom, as well.

My old junior high school in Kansas City, Kan. — a school where my mother taught English — has been transformed into an apartment building for seniors.

The building that housed Northeast Junior High School now is Northeast Junior High Place. The building, at 400 Troup Ave., has been turned into 43 one- and two-bedroom apartments for people at least 55 years old.

I toured the building last week. Walking the halls I once traipsed up and down brought back a flood of memories. Basketball in the gym. Battles of the bands in the auditorium. Detention in the library.

Northeast Junior High was completed in 1924. With a team name of the Dragons, the school originally was a segregated school for African-Americans. Despite its size and the quality of education it offered, the school was closed in 1977 as a result of a federally ordered desegregation plan. The building was later purchased by Pleasant Green Baptist Church. There were calls to tear it down. It became an eyesore while Pleasant Green waited until a development deal could be put together.

Richard Kready, the vice president of operations for the Pioneer Group, first saw the building two decades ago.

“We spent a long time trying to figure out how to do it. Then we worked on the financing and the architectural work,” Kready said of the building, which finally reopened about a year ago. “Now it looks as it did in the historic photos. Hopefully, it reminds you of the place as it was.”

It does. Even the bells that rang to tell you when recess was over have been restored. Each of the units comes with a dishwasher, a stove, a refrigerator, a built-in microwave, a self-cleaning oven and a ceiling fan. Each classroom averaged about 750 square feet.

“Basically, we took a classroom and made it a one-bedroom apartment,” Kready said. “We divide that into kitchen, living room, a bedroom and a bathroom.”

In some of the units, the chalkboards remain.

Kready said he was pleased his company got involved. “I think what we’ve done still keeps some of that history in place,” he said.

The Rev. James Collier, the pastor of Pleasant Green, which is a partner in the project, is pleased with the way it turned out.

“We’re really excited about Northeast Junior High Place,” Collier said. “Northeast is a community treasure, and to see it today, it’s now a tremendous asset. We’re thankful for our partnership.”

From 1923 to 1977, Northeast was indeed considered a plus to the community, educating African-Americans in Kansas City, Kan., and doing it well.

It may have fallen into disrepair for a few years, but as a result of the patience and vision of Pleasant Green Baptist Church, the building that housed Northeast has been transformed back into the asset that it once was.

To reach Steve Penn, call 816-234-4417 or send e-mail to spenn@kcstar.com.

• Most Read