KCRag Forum

Good luck to them. Such a great, old mansion. The owner should be drawn and quartered for letting it go to crap the last 40 years.

I wanted to give the guy the benefit of the doubt and say maybe he wants to fix it up but just can't afford to, but no, from what I can ascertain this dude is basically a grown up rich kid who just doesn't want to sell or otherwise do anything with the property. He's been taken to court (and sentenced to jail!) for his negligence.

I found this passage from one of the court's decisions particularly eye-opening:

He learned that his appeal had not been perfected when he was arrested as a result of his parole revocation. Lopp was allowed to go free because he had no knowledge that his appeal had not been perfected and that his parole had been revoked.

How in the world is there a difference between the lawyer, acting as an agent of and on behalf of their client, fucking up the paperwork not treated exactly the same as if the person themselves fucked it up? I'm not a lawyer but I have been arrested, and, "Gee, I didn't know, I'm sorry," never got me anywhere.

I took the Historic KC Endangered Homes tour a few years ago. The tour leader for that KCK neighborhood did not mince words when characterizing the owners. I don't remember specifics, but I remember having very little empathy for their situation.

Historic Kansas City releases most endangered list for 2018.

https://historickansascity.org/wp-conte ... l-July.pdf

This year's list is ridiculous since most items chosen were general groupings or entire neighborhoods, or categories, i.e. modern architecture; Westport; The Old Northeast; city churches; closed city schools; commercial structures; Midtown apartments and apartment hotels; 18th and Vine District; and the Country Club Plaza District.

This approach doesn't prioritize which individual buildings are in most peril, or most in need of being rescued. It doesn't tell City leaders and residents which buildings are most significant. It's much too vague, and basically useless. It's like a group of people sat around a table and couldn't decide, so they just said "all old buildings and neighborhoods" in the City are endangered.

If I were making a list for this year, it would be:

1. Mardi Gras Club in the 18th and Vine District -- wall collapse
2. Satchel Paige residence, 2626 E. 28th Street (Santa Fe Historic District) -- damaged by fire
3. Admiral & Woodland retail building--roof collapse
4. Seventh Church of Christ, Country Club Plaza--redevelopment deal threatens demolition
5. Holy Ghost New Testament Church (the historic Jamison Temple C.M.E. Church), 1815 Paseo--roof damaged
6. The Aladdin Theater, 6044 Truman Road--continued threat of deterioration, fire threat
7. Boulevard Manor Hotel/Steuben Club, 1115 E. Armour--continued threat of deterioration, fire threat
8. Knickerbocker Apartments, Broadway & Knickerbocker Place--continued threat of deterioration, fire threat
9. The Belmont Hotel, 911 Linwood --continued threat of deterioration, fire threat
10. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Building, 220-224 W. 18th St.--continued threat of deterioration, fire threat

Then on the watch list, place the general categories: neighborhood churches, schools, Country Club Plaza, etc.

Oh no you didn't.

SF to developer who tore down landmark house: Rebuild it exactly as it was

A property owner who illegally demolished a 1936 Twin Peaks house designed by a renowned modernist must rebuild an exact replica of the home rather than the much larger structure the property owner had proposed replacing it with, the City Planning Commission ruled this week.

In a unanimous 5-0 vote late Thursday night, the commission also ordered that the property owner — Ross Johnston, through his 49 Hopkins LLC — include a sidewalk plaque telling the story of the original house designed by architect Richard Neutra, the demolition and the replica.

The commission directive, unprecedented in San Francisco, comes more than a year after the home at 49 Hopkins Ave., known as the Largent House, was almost entirely knocked down. All that remained of the white, two-story redwood-and-concrete-block home was a garage door and frame.
...

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/art ... o-16648936

There was a pub in london that this exact same thing happened to. Certainly an effective solution

FangKC wrote: ↑Mon Jul 16, 2018 11:28 pm

FangKC wrote:Historic Kansas City releases its' 2015 Most Endangered Building List

No specific order:

1. Sauer Castle, 935 Shawnee Road, Kansas City, KS

Locals hope to restore KCK’s famous Sauer Castle

https://fox4kc.com/2018/07/16/locals-ho ... er-castle/

Historic Sauer Castle is a Landmark in Serious Trouble

https://newsantafetrailer.blogspot.com ... rk-in.html

This is odd: https://www.kansascity.com/news/article247839585.html

32 years and he's only managed to go backwards. Delusional.

City boards up historic Sauer Castle in KCK

...
A judge issued a warrant Dec. 10, days ago, allowing for the “boarding and securing” of the property due to violations of city ordinances.

A spokesperson for the Unified Government said “this action was taken after multiple request to secure the property went unanswered by the owner.”

Lopp owes $15,402 in taxes for the lot the castle sits on, $14,260 for the lot next to it, and $21,950 in special assessments and citations. He’s on his fourth payment plan to the Unified Government.
...

https://www.kctv5.com/news/local_news/c ... a21b6.html

My gut tells me Sauer will be bulldozed within the next few years.

He will never restore that house. It appears that he's just letting it rot. I understand the sentimentality of owning an ancestral home. But if you are the architect of its' destruction, that I don't understand. Sell it to someone or some group who wants to restore it, and has the ability to fund it.

FangKC wrote: ↑Tue Dec 15, 2020 5:40 pm He will never restore that house. It appears that he's just letting it rot. I understand the sentimentality of owning an ancestral home. But if you are the architect of its' destruction, that I don't understand. Sell it to someone or some group who wants to restore it, and has the ability to fund it.

There’s a Facebook group for the castle and there’s at least one person with that last name who seems fairly serious about actually buying and restoring it.

Does anyone know where to find data related to how much housing was lost in KC due to Urban Decay? Also of note I saw that Lucas was talking about having a special tax for blight

The only places I can think of is the University of Missouri-Kansas City -- urban studies? Or the Mid-American Regional Council (MARC) and see if they've done some type of study.

Thanks will take a look

Riverite wrote: ↑Wed Jan 06, 2021 11:04 am Does anyone know where to find data related to how much housing was lost in KC due to Urban Decay? Also of note I saw that Lucas was talking about having a special tax for blight

The Missouri Valley Room likely could give direction too.

How are you defining Urban Decay?

Lost housing units, not ones that have or can be redeveloped. Those that are gone or will be demolished

Seems like I've seen this mapped somewhere. Maybe on UrbanAngle?