New details of redevelopment plans emerge for historic Kansas City neighborhood
New details have emerged about possible redevelopment plans for property owned by an insurance company in Midtown.
Kansas City Life Insurance, which owns several properties on and around Summit Street/Southwest Trafficway and Pennsylvania Avenue near its Broadway Boulevard headquarters, unveiled new information about its vision for redevelopment in the Valentine neighborhood, including a new court of colonnade apartments, at a historic preservation committee meeting on Friday.
The company has proposed demolishing four buildings in the neighborhood that have fallen into poor condition: a four-plex on Jefferson Street from 1909, a house on Summit Street from 1905, and two century-old colonnades on Summit Street. Representatives have said the buildings are dangerous and no longer viable.
The proposed demolition has been temporarily stopped under the city’s new rules that allow the historic preservation commission to place a 45-day hold on demolition to allow officials to consider alternatives if the properties could be eligible for a special historic status.
The commission voted to place the hold on Friday while encouraging KC Life to follow up with the city about whether the properties should be placed on the city’s dangerous buildings list.
Gina Anderson, director of real estate for KC Life, told the commission that the company has an “emerging vision” for redevelopment of its land in Midtown that retaining the three Summit Street properties would hinder, including a new colonnade court modeled after the Roanoke Court apartments south of Valentine Road.
The plans include building five new colonnades that don’t face the trafficway and would use modern construction materials to keep out sound while fitting the historic fabric. There would be 30 units, replacing the 13 units that are there now. KC Life is contemplating a possible single-family home on the Jefferson site and further housing development at the intersection of Valentine and Summit.
A spokesperson KC Life said on Friday that further details were not available.
The company recently celebrated its 100th anniversary in the neighborhood. Anderson said KC Life is committed to the neighborhood and has continued to make improvements on its properties since she started with the company in 2021 while looking to construct new residential units.