Land once slated for Troost Avenue grocery store changes hands

Kansas City’s Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority has accepted title to property at 27th Street and Troost Avenue that had been planned for a “food desert” grocery store.

The full-service market was envisioned in 2012 by Truman Medical Center and other organizations interested in providing healthy food options in the underserved neighborhood.

The store initially was to open in 2013. But it wasn’t until that year that the project moved forward with land transfers from the Housing and Economic Development Financial Corp. and the city of Kansas City to the Hospital Hill Economic Development Corp. and Truman Medical Center.

The project at that time was estimated to need $11.5 million in federal, Kansas City economic development and hospital funds to be viable. But fundraising efforts fell short, and the store missed its expected construction start in the fall of 2013.

By mid 2015, it was questioned whether the store was needed at all. A SunFresh grocery was announced for Linwood Boulevard and Prospect Avenue, about 1.5 miles from the planned site. The plan for 27th and Troost was abandoned.

At an LCRA board meeting this week, commissioners authorized title acceptance to the grocery store property, which currently is landscaped. LCRA has allocated a budget to maintain the property so it won’t become an eyesore.

This story was originally published December 17, 2015 at 10:45 AM with the headline "Land once slated for Troost Avenue grocery store changes hands."