Lawsuit claims KC parking lot near Power & Light a magnet for gunfire, crime
A parking lot historically plagued with shootings near Kansas City’s Power & Light District is the subject of a lawsuit filed this week by the owners of a downtown apartment building.
Owners of The Grand, 1125 Grand Blvd, claim the parking lot’s owners have failed to provide adequate surveillance and security, and that their failure to do so has bred a hot spot for criminal activity.
The suit, filed in Jackson County Civil Court Tuesday, seeks damages and a court order instructing the parking lot owners to resolve the “nuisance.” Named in the suit as defendants are TWP Holdings LLC and KCDH 112 LLC, which own the parking lot located at 1300 Grand Boulevard.
Two people were killed and three others were left injured in a shooting at the parking lot Aug. 24. Police were called just after 4 a.m. to 13th Street and Grand Boulevard. One man was pronounced dead at the scene with a gunshot wound.
Four others, including two men, a young person and a woman, were taken to a hospital with gunshot wounds, police said. One of the men later died at the hospital.
Gunfire shatters windows at The Grand
The fatal shooting in August was the latest incident amid ongoing crime problems there, the lawsuit says.
Tenants of The Grand overlook the parking lot, which sits just south of the apartment building. The Grand building contains approximately 10,000 square feet of commercial space and 201 multifamily rental units, according to the suit.
Business owners near the parking lot have complained to its owners about nuisance activity that has been ongoing for several years, the suit claims.
The lawsuit claims nuisance issues include unwanted noise, alleged illegal drug use and distribution, litter, loitering, and gunshots being fired into The Grand from the parking lot.
Gunfire from the parking lot has broken and destroyed windows at The Grand on at least seven separate occasions over the years, dating back to September 2022, according to the suit.
One month before the fatal shooting in August, on July 11, gunshots destroyed 11 windows at The Grand; Bullets entered the apartment building and lodged into cabinets and walls, the suit claims.
“Defendants’ ownership and management of the Defendants’ parking lot has been, and continues to be, unreasonable in that Defendants have not taken adequate steps as landowners to secure, surveil and maintain their parking lot, causing harm to surrounding businesses and residents,” the suit reads.
As of Thursday, there were no attorneys yet listed in online court records for TWP Holdings and KCDH 112.
Downtown security updates
The lawsuit cites a statement that Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas made on social media two days before the parking lot shooting.
In the statement, Lucas said that when surface lots are not maintained, they frequently become a “breeding ground for crime, including shootings, drug sales, aggressive car sideshow activities and other nuisance activities that take police resources and harm neighborhood quality of life.”
Lucas’ statement at the time mentioned an ordinance being introduced that would require property owners to install more lighting and security measures at parking lots downtown. They would also require that lots not attached to businesses in the city’s entertainment districts be enclosed.
That ordinance is under review in the city council finance committee.
In response to the shootings, Lucas’s office announced a city collaboration with Copaken Brooks, which is the company responsible for property management at the parking lot. The collaboration aims to increase security efforts downtown.
While TWP Holdings and KCDH 112 own the parking lot, Copaken Brooks is responsible for managing the lot, said Annemijn Steele, the company’s vice president of operations.
Copaken Brooks is not named in the lawsuit that was filed this week.
Copaken Brooks previously said in a statement that it increased its security measures by adding more foot patrol, adding new barriers and more lighting throughout the lot, and expanding its mobile surveillance.
Previous reporting by The Star’s PJ Green and Noelle Alviz-Gransee contributed.
