I am asking forum participants to chime in with the City Council on this development.
Development hearing scheduled for Wednesday, June 20 regarding redevelopment of 2600 Independence Avenue (at Prospect).
From Pendleton Heights Neighborhood Association:
The hearing for the proposed development at
2600 Independence Avenue was delayed again last month, and has been rescheduled to be heard by the Planning, Zoning and Economic Development Committee on
Wednesday, June 20 at 1:30 p.m. on the 26th floor of City Hall. We've been assured the issue will be discussed this time and it will be first on the agenda.
A single-story retail building is proposed for the
northeast corner of Independence and Prospect, the location that suffered a tragic fire in 2015. View the renderings for the proposed development.
The Pendleton Heights Neighborhood Association Board opposes this development for several reasons:
**There are no identified tenants for any of the retail spaces.
**The single-story development does not create density and positive activity at an important intersection. A multistory development with residential above retail would be more in line with the past structure and create a safer intersection with more eyes on the street.
**This specific intersection has been identified by both RideKC in its study of bus service on Independence Ave and the City of Kansas City, Missouri, in its transit-oriented development policy as having great potential to reap the rewards from transit service investment. A single-story retail development will remove that possibility, leaving the neighborhood with a suburban strip mall with potentially no tenants.
We are asking city leaders to set a higher standard on a key parcel of land that has the chance to shape the positive trajectory of the future of Pendleton Heights, the success of the Paseo Gateway, and will be relevant for generations to come, like the historic homes we all love.
We'd love to see as many neighbors as possible at the meeting, but if you can't make it we ask you to consider sending an email to elected officials or voicing your opinion on social media. It's important that we all share our concerns on this issue and send a powerful message about our vision for the future of Pendleton Heights.
Here's a list of email addresses you can copy and paste into the To: field of your email:
mayor@kcmo.org;
jermaine.reed@kcmo.org;
quinton.lucas@kcmo.org;
heather.hall@kcmo.org;
teresa.loar@kcmo.org;;
Dan.Fowler@kcmo.org;
katheryn.shields@kcmo.org;
jolie.justus@kcmo.org;
lee.barnes@kcmo.org;
alissia.canady@kcmo.org;
scott.taylor@kcmo.org;
kevin.mcmanus@kcmo.org;
planning@kcmo.org;
board@pendletonheights.org
What is being proposed:
What used to be there:
The site:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/2600+ ... 94.5505344
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Here are some other points I have made to council members.
This is a major intersection in the Historic Northeast that should be a mixed use zone. The property should be a
transit-oriented, mixed-use, development that ideally would be 3-4 stories including street-level retail and apartments above.
This neighborhood
desperately needs multi-family, and housing for seniors and the disabled, on transit routes that are also near a grocery store (Snyder's) and a drug store (CVS across the street). There is also a Family Dollar store near that intersection, Central Bank, health clinics, and several churches nearby. Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences is a short distance away.
There are residents who don't own cars, or can't drive, who need housing near health clinics, banks, churches, drug and grocery stores. It is very difficult especially for seniors and disabled to do their grocery shopping on the bus, and would benefit from housing next-door to a grocery. This site is ideal for new housing of that type.
The proposed development really makes little effort to be dense or urban as would be fitting for its' site. A successful redevelopment of this parcel might result in redevelopment of nearby properties.