KIPP KC charter school is ready to expand after completing purchase of former college building

KIPP KC, a charter middle school in Kansas City’s East Side, wants to triple its enrollment and now has the building space to do it.

KIPP KC, which serves 260 students from fifth to eighth grade, completed the purchase of the former Metropolitan Community College Pioneer Campus building at 1701 Prospect Ave.

The charter school occupied space in the building with other tenants. Kansas City owned the building but in 2015 declared it surplus. KIPP, which is also known as KIPP Endeavor Academy, won a request for proposals to buy the building for $2.3 million. KIPP took out a $1.9 million mortgage to complete the acquisition Monday.

KIPP plans to renovate the building and add kindergarten through fourth grades, bringing its enrollment up to 800 students. The building has 40 classrooms, a cafeteria and a gym.

John Coe and Molly Crawford, brokers for real estate firm Copaken Brooks, represented KIPP in the transaction.

KIPP KC is part of a national charter school organization. The Kansas City location opened in 2007.

This story was originally published July 26, 2016 at 2:03 PM with the headline "KIPP KC charter school is ready to expand after completing purchase of former college building."