By Paul Thompson

Northeast News

Demolition crews stood atop the westernmost Colonial Court structure on the morning of Monday, August 7, tossing building debris onto the courtyard of the complex below.

The demolition of the apartments is now underway, and it’s expected to be completed by October. Elizabeth Alex, Kansas City University’s public relations and outreach manager, told the Northeast News that some elements of the historic structure will be salvaged as demolition proceeds. Already, KCU has donated roughly 40 air conditioning units that were recovered from the apartments.

“We have donated the air conditioning units to the Bishop Sullivan Center,” Alex said. “They give them to low-income senior citizens.”

Building materials are also expected to be salvaged.

“Materials and bricks have been offered to the Pendleton Heights Neighborhood Association and the Kansas City, Missouri Parks and Recreation department,” Alex added.

In addition to the three apartment buildings that comprise the Colonial Court complex, KCU is also in the process of demolishing a 2.5 story home located at 517 Woodland – right across from its campus.

“The University will resurface and expand the current Colonial Court parking lot for its parking needs,” Alex said.

Pendleton Heights Neighborhood Association president Jessica Ray confirmed that an agreement for salvaging the building materials had been reached. The neighborhood has not yet determined exactly how the materials will be utilized.

“We are working on a couple of different things,” Ray said. “Plans are in the works to re-use materials.”

Along with the materials from the Colonial Court demolition, KCU has also agreed to donate two houses on Brownell Avenue to Pendleton Heights with the understanding that the neighborhood association will find owners willing to physically relocate the homes to donated plots on Brownell that face Maple Boulevard.

“These two also need owners, so we’re going to plan open houses in the next couple of weeks,” said Ray.

Anyone interested in taking on the project – or re-using some Colonial Court materials – is encouraged to reach out to board@pendletonheights.org for more information.