Julia Williams

Editor-in-Chief

To wrap up the series on the Independence Avenue Community Improvement District (CID) Storefront Improvement Program(SIR), this week focuses on Scuola Vita Nuova (SVN) Charter School at 535 Garfield Ave. 

SVN was founded in 1999 with the intention of providing local (Northeast) families with education opportunities and art exposure, according to its website. 

While SVN originally started out offering courses for four grades, this “School of New Life” has gone on to expand and offer education for students in Kindergarten through eighth grade in its 26 years in operation. 

In 2015, SVN participated in the Independence Avenue CID, SIR program, which works to support Historic Northeast Kansas City businesses and institutions that fall within the CID boundary. Some of these support mechanisms within the SIR program include exterior repairs and improvements from signage and lighting to landscaping and awnings, among others. 

This program worked to aid the Charter School in installing exterior security cameras — facing Brooklyn Avenue and Independence Plaza Park — to provide security and crime prevention on its main campus, SVN Director of Finance and Operations, Mary Pittala shared in an interview. 

SVN was able to purchase and install these cameras through the SIR program, along with additional exterior cameras the Charter School has installed since then, which Pittala said has helped to increase safety and security on its campus. 

In addition to cameras, Pittala shared a project that SVN is currently undergoing near its expansion location at 2021 Independence Ave. The site, which formerly housed the Northeast branch, Social Security Administration office, was purchased by SVN in 2023 to utilize as an additional learning facility for its students. 

Pittala said that SVN is currently working with the City of Kansas City, Public Improvements Advisory Committee (PIAC), Northeast Kansas City neighborhood associations and the CID to install a traffic light and signage across from this recently renovated building at Garfield and Independence Avenues.

A proposal, which is a part of Kansas City’s vision zero and mobility initiative focused on eliminating traffic-related fatalities and critical injuries in Kansas City by 2030, aims to improve safety along Independence Avenue and allow children and SVN students to cross the street safely from northside Independence Avenue, where its campus is located, to the south end of the Avenue. 

Pittala said this project proposal is currently still awaiting approval from PIAC, before it can move on to next steps. 

For Historic Northeast Kansas City businesses within the CID boundaries along Independence Avenue who are interested in participating in the rebate program, they are asked to contact CID Urban Planner Lonnie Clark for a pre-application meeting at: lonnieclark@indieavecid.com. 

If a proposal meets all required criteria — including desired improvements visible from Independence Avenue — an application form will be required for submission, along with a W-9 and photos from said property. It is from there that a project will be submitted by the CID for approval from the Independence Avenue CID Property Committee. 

For inquiries or additional information, visit: https://nekcchamber.com/storefront-improvement-rebate/.