911 Linwood Redevelopment as Senior Housing

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KCtoBrooklyn
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911 Linwood Redevelopment as Senior Housing

Post by KCtoBrooklyn »

Pioneer Group of Topeka and Sunflower Development of KCMO are currently working to redevelop the Belmont Hotel on the corner of Linwood and Harrison into senior (55+) housing.

What the building looked like when it was changed over to a hospital in 1949:
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The developers said they are planning on returning it more to it's original appearance. The vacant lots on the east side of Harrison will be made into parking.

The project has received Historic Preservation credits, as well as MHDC credits for affordable/senior housing.

There was a meeting earlier in the week between the developers and the Hyde Park Neighborhood Association board and residents which rather rapidly devolved into HP residents chastising and yelling at the developers. The concern is that even though it is designated by senior housing, it will be populated by residents of all ages (troublesome grandkids) and it will result in the same problems as Section 8 developments, a' la the Bainbridge.

The other concern is that the development will be locked into being affordable senior housing for 30 years, with no chance to change if further redevelopment were to occur.

Personally, I'm not nearly as concerned and riled up as other HP residents. Yes, it would be ideal if it were converted into market rate apartments by a group like MAC - but I don't see that happening anytime soon. Linwood does not equal Armour. Senior housing is better than a rotting, vacant building or Section 8.

An interesting side not from the meeting: apparently the ReStore to Linwood and Troost is not completely dead. Sunflower Development is still working with Habitat for Humanity on that site after previously declaring that the building was too far gone to reasonably rehab. Rather than putting a ReStore there (I guess the one in Waldo replaced it) they are looking at converting it into offices for Habitat.
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Re: 911 Linwood Redevelopment as Senior Housing

Post by FangKC »

I also agree that affordable senior housing is of little threat to Hyde Park as long as there are restrictions to allowing children and grandchildren to live in the apartments.

Many middle class people fall into lower-income housing allowances once they retire and are living on only Social Security and modest penions or investment savings. The number doubles when you add to that high medical expenses that spend-down their incomes into eligibility. A couple of chronic conditions can do that (diabetes, heart disease) since Medicare doesn't pay for all expenses--and beneficiary drug share costs can eat up a significant part of their income. Many fall into an "in-between" situation because they earn too much for Medicaid to help pay the rest. I think the top Medicaid income eligibility guideline in Missouri for a single person is around $700 a month.

Some of the very people complaining about this senior housing development might some day end up there. Does anyone in these public meetings ever bring this fact up to Hyde Park residents?

I would wager that many of the surrounding over-50 neighbors are just one job loss, or major health castatrophe, away from being eligible financially to live in those senior apartments.

Many of those retired, or soon-to-be, will face senior years with diminished investments that lost up to half of their value during the economic crisis of 2008. Their retirement accounts suffered, and many have lost 30-40 percent of their home value, which will take years to recover.

Income growth has not been keeping pace with inflation for many workers, so more and more of them will face their senior years with less income than they had planned.

One of the biggest needs right now is for in-neighborhood senior housing for those who want to age in the neighborhood where they lived when younger.

The other thing people need to keep in mind about seniors is that a large number of those with low incomes are women. I can't imagine that elderly women are going to cause a lot of problems in the neighborhood.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/0 ... 16197.html

KCtoBrooklyn makes a good point about it being better to have low-income senior housing versus a vacant, rotting building that can house the homeless, drug users, and potentially be the site of an accidental fire.
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Re: 911 Linwood Redevelopment as Senior Housing

Post by FangKC »

That building used to also be the Veterans Adminstration Regional Office Building.

http://kchistory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.p ... X=1&REC=20

It was also the Thorton and Minor Hospital, and before that, the Lucerne Apartment Hotel.
KC Star Magazine, November 26, 1995

Q.: What Happened to the Thornton Minor Hospital That Was in Kansas City for Many Years

Abstract The specialty clinic started by Dr. T. W. Thornton in 1877 was first located in small building at 111 W. 10th St. In 1885, Dr. W. E. Minor joined Dr. Thornton at that location and the name was changed to the Thornton & Minor clinic. The clinic specialized in rectal and colonic disorders. By the time the organization reached its final home on the corner of Linwood Boulevard and Harrison Street, more than 65,000 people had been treated. After moving from its first location in 1890 and twice more in 1900 and 1909, the Thornton & Minor Sanitarium company bought the Lucerne apartment hotel at Linwood and Harrison. The organization converted the six-story building into a 300-bed hospital for its patients who had previously been forced to stay in hotels near the old location.The Thornton & Minor hospital merged its medical facilities with the McCleary clinic and hospital and moved to Excelsior Springs in November 1957. The next year the building became the regional office facility for the Veterans Administration.
http://kchistory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.p ... OX=1&REC=2

Photo as the Lucerne Hotel.

http://kchistory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.p ... OX=1&REC=3
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Re: 911 Linwood Redevelopment as Senior Housing

Post by FangKC »

The site:

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Re: 911 Linwood Redevelopment as Senior Housing

Post by Midtownkid »

Happy to hear this!

Lets keep the ball rolling on redevelopment of the city to the east. Restore KC!!
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Re: 911 Linwood Redevelopment as Senior Housing

Post by chrizow »

actually, the neighborhood is keeping an eye on this b/c it's been described to us as subsidized housing "marketed" to seniors, but not exclusive to seniors. from what i have seen, there is no guarantee it will be senior housing, and could end up being yet another high-rise crime hub in hyde park.
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Re: 911 Linwood Redevelopment as Senior Housing

Post by aknowledgeableperson »

chrizow wrote:actually, the neighborhood is keeping an eye on this b/c it's been described to us as subsidized housing "marketed" to seniors, but not exclusive to seniors
There are quite a few apartment complexes that are "senior" in nature. There is a mixture of market rate units with subsidized units. Senior in many of those instances is defined as 55 and older, in case of a married couple I think only one has to be 55.
The question would be where is the money coming from? If it is part of a federal housing program for seniors I doubt it would become home to the local thugs.
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Re: 911 Linwood Redevelopment as Senior Housing

Post by KCtoBrooklyn »

chrizow wrote:actually, the neighborhood is keeping an eye on this b/c it's been described to us as subsidized housing "marketed" to seniors, but not exclusive to seniors. from what i have seen, there is no guarantee it will be senior housing, and could end up being yet another high-rise crime hub in hyde park.
I'm pretty sure this is just a misconception that is being spread around.

I believe they are receiving tax credits for senior housing and are legally required to only allow seniors. Although how strictly and what methods are used to enforce this could be a reasonable concern.

The one comprable local project that this group has done is the renovation of Northeast Junior High in KCK into senior housing. Is anyone at all familiar with this project and any impact it has had on the neighborhood?
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Re: 911 Linwood Redevelopment as Senior Housing

Post by Pastense »

The developers have an allocation of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) from the Missouri Housing Development Commission. They have the option of designating the building for 55+ or 62+ age restrictions. Most developers will choose the 55+ restriction as it creates a larger market. The residents are limited to those households with incomes under 60% of area median income. In Kansas City that equates to approximately $25,000 for a single person or about $30,000 for a two-person household. There is no rent subsidy that accompanies the LIHTC assistance, but the tax credit equity allows for rents generally below market and affordable to the targeted income group. In practice most affordable senior apartments in KC are occupied by a much older population, 65+ and are not the source of the kind of problems associated with the Armour Blvd HUD properties or any problems at all. Most neighborhoods would welcome the redevelopment of such an eyesore and the opportunity for neighborhood residents to remain in the neighborhood as they age. The reaction of Hyde Park is very short-sighted.
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Re: 911 Linwood Redevelopment as Senior Housing

Post by KCtoBrooklyn »

The project seems to be similar to the Chatham - 55+ income restricted affordable housing. That project seemed to have been greeted with open arms by everyone. I know the vacant Chatham was a trouble spot for squatting drug addicts - I haven't heard of such problems with 911 Linwood, but I wouldn't be surprised if similar activity is happening, or would happen if the building continues to be unused.

As far as I know, there have been no problems with the tenants of the Chatham.

One point that was brought up by HP residents at the meeting was that this particular corner of Linwood was a trouble spot, with drug and crime issues with some of the surrounding buildings. Therefore, there shouldn't be any more subsidized housing nearby - for the sake of the neighborhood and the sake of the potential residents of the project (why put the senior citizens in such a dangerous situation?).

At the same time, they would ask why the project couldn't be market rate. I don't see any possible way that a market rate project could be economically feasible for that location in the foreseeable future. It is a troubled corner and I don't think anyone would pay market rate prices to live there. With the blight of the current building, I don't see any chance for improvement of this stretch of Linwood unless it is through a project like this.
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Re: 911 Linwood Redevelopment as Senior Housing

Post by chaglang »

KCtoBrooklyn wrote:At the same time, they would ask why the project couldn't be market rate. I don't see any possible way that a market rate project could be economically feasible for that location in the foreseeable future. It is a troubled corner and I don't think anyone would pay market rate prices to live there. With the blight of the current building, I don't see any chance for improvement of this stretch of Linwood unless it is through a project like this.
My impression was that when someone said "market rate", everyone thought of the Clyde Manor and Park Central, which command $1000+ monthly rents. As someone said above, Linwood isn't Armour.
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Re: 911 Linwood Redevelopment as Senior Housing

Post by FangKC »

Well, one also has to recognize that low-income housing isn't totally responsible for problems in the area. There are many old apartment buildings in the area that will rent to anyone who has the money to move in, and they do no background checks, or have any real rules.

Low-income residents seeking HUD-financed apartments have to go through a process, and they cannot be felons, nor can they provide accommodations to felons, or criminal activity. If they do, they are evicted. Many of the private landlords renting apartments and single family homes in that area don't even have that criteria.

There are several buildings adjacent to 911 Linwood that would benefit from being bundled with that building in a redevelopment, and have the same consistent management that at least does background and credit checks.

Reducing the number of rental houses in Hyde Park would probably do more to reduce crime in the area than anything. Most criminals can't get into HUD housing, so they rent single family houses nearby, or live in privately-owned apartment buildings with absentee landlords.

One also has to recognize that liquor stores, and check cashing/pawn shop businesses are nearby, and are often gathering places for trouble. One also cannot control the housing situation in the neighborhood east of Troost that is in walking distance.
Last edited by FangKC on Tue May 22, 2012 9:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 911 Linwood Redevelopment as Senior Housing

Post by KCtoBrooklyn »

I just returned form a meeting at MHDC about this project.

I was the only one there who was in favor of it. There were 20+ HP'ers there against it.

They all seemed to expect MAC to buy and rehab the building. I'm about as optimistic about the neighborhood as anyone, but sorry folks, that ain't gonna happen.

The rent for these units is to be over $600 for the 1 bedrooms. It's not like they're giving them away for free to just anyone. These are senior citizens with moderate incomes, not Section 8 renters.

I think everyone is just riled up about the Bainbridge and are taking their rage out at this development, even though it is completely different. I think HP just made a big mistake.
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Re: 911 Linwood Redevelopment as Senior Housing

Post by chaglang »

Oh well. Send the developers over to Center City or Squier Park. We'll work with them.
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Re: 911 Linwood Redevelopment as Senior Housing

Post by FangKC »

For lands sake, first everyone was scared of Native Americans, then Mexicans, then Chinese, then Germans and Japanese, then Russians, then the Japanese and Chinese again, then Muslims, and now it's old people.

Although I can't really make fun of Hyde Park residents, when they held KCPSD community hearings on what to do with the former Northeast Junior High building on Independence Avenue, the neighborhood was against converting it into housing--even for low and moderate-income seniors.

I mean come on people, what else is there to do with a building that large?
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Re: 911 Linwood Redevelopment as Senior Housing

Post by taxi »

This is a common problem and I've seen it many times. I've seen some of my neighbors do the same thing, not realizing that their hopes are unrealistic. It's generally the people that don't understand commercial development... they may have invested in their own homes (or not), but they don't understand nor appreciate the risk that developers take. In today's lending environment, a capable developer wanting to do a project like this is a godsend, especially given the present state of this building.

It is a problematic stance that neighborhoods sometimes take and then run the risk of creating a bad reputation. Most of them just need a good ol' whoopin, with a walking cane.
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Re: 911 Linwood Redevelopment as Senior Housing

Post by taxi »

Here's an interesting example of what can happen when you piss off the man...

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/22/us/ge ... hbors.html
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Re: 911 Linwood Redevelopment as Senior Housing

Post by FangKC »

I think the absolute best thing that Mayor James could do for this City is to go around to public meetings and explain to people the ramifications of the historic loss of population in the City south of the river in regards to the tax base, and the financial health of the City in the long-term.

It needs to be explained what every vacant building, house, and lot means in the grand scheme of things. Every property owner in the City will have to pay more in property taxes, or higher sales taxes, in the future to make up for the lost revenue on these properties, and the cost of maintaining infastructure in neighborhoods that don't contribute a lot to the City budget.

It needs to be explained that if Hyde Park residents, or others, want retail to return to Troost, or other underserved areas, that population needs to return to parts of the City that has lost residents.

And finally, he needs to explain the expense to the City when these empty buildings sit empty for years, and the City has to pay to demolish them, and hope they can get reimbursed.
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Re: 911 Linwood Redevelopment as Senior Housing

Post by chaglang »

Keep in mind that there have been some really awful development ideas pitched for this part of town in the last year or two. Restart wanted to build a group home at 33rd and Troost, someone wanted to make old Faxon a center for homeless vets, etc. And the good ideas that have been pitched never seem to happen - the buildings sit empty for years until another developer comes along and pitches something else. So the neighborhoods around here have their guard up pretty much all the time. If not for them this part of town would have become a dumping ground for people living in subsidized housing. Developers have to be smart enough to understand that when they pitch ideas to the community.

I think MAC has inadvertently created some problems for other developers in this sense. Because commercial development economics isn't well understood by neighborhood residents (I certainly don't know much about it) and the MAC buildings seem to happen by magic, there's a sense of "If they did it, why can't you?" No one understands how the buildings on Armour were revived or why it worked there, so there's no appreciation for when something like that is viable and when it isn't. You wind up with neighborhoods holding out until something like the Clyde Manor falls from into their laps. Which might never happen, but they don't know that. They'll keep rejecting every other developer because they can't gauge their options properly.
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Re: 911 Linwood Redevelopment as Senior Housing

Post by loftguy »

chaglang wrote:Keep in mind that there have been some really awful development ideas pitched for this part of town in the last year or two. Restart wanted to build a group home at 33rd and Troost, someone wanted to make old Faxon a center for homeless vets, etc. And the good ideas that have been pitched never seem to happen - the buildings sit empty for years until another developer comes along and pitches something else. So the neighborhoods around here have their guard up pretty much all the time. If not for them this part of town would have become a dumping ground for people living in subsidized housing. Developers have to be smart enough to understand that when they pitch ideas to the community.

I think MAC has inadvertently created some problems for other developers in this sense. Because commercial development economics isn't well understood by neighborhood residents (I certainly don't know much about it) and the MAC buildings seem to happen by magic, there's a sense of "If they did it, why can't you?" No one understands how the buildings on Armour were revived or why it worked there, so there's no appreciation for when something like that is viable and when it isn't. You wind up with neighborhoods holding out until something like the Clyde Manor falls from into their laps. Which might never happen, but they don't know that. They'll keep rejecting every other developer because they can't gauge their options properly.

Reallly interesting, Chaglang. I'm pleased to have the reminder of the neighborhood "layman" perspective on this.

You also seem to intuit the reality of MAC's investments here, in that they are a freaking gift from the gods, with seemingly endless funding to do projects that 95% of development mortals could only enjoy in fantasy.

They are changing the game, but the community cannot base expectations on fringe development to expect the same model for all development. Renovation is a difficult process to structure, fund, and execute. And getting harder due to funding and tax credit constraints.
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