Vacant lot site for potential location for new state facility | Photo by Dorri Partain

Dorri Partain
Managing Editor

An ordinance sponsored by Mayor Quinton Lucas and 3rd District Councilperson Melissa Patterson-Hazley introduces the process to sell the vacant parcel at the intersection of The Paseo and Independence Avenue to the State of Missouri.

Coming before the City Council during their weekly business session on Thursday, August 15, Ordinance #240691 outlines the process for the sale of properties addressed at 533 Tracy, 1408 and 1200 Independence Avenue for construction of a new Missouri State Behavioral Health facility.

In advance of the council session, representatives with the Missouri Department of Mental Health, Office of Administration, and University Health’s Behavioral Health department outlined the proposed facility’s goals and functions. The meeting was held on Monday, August 12, at Kansas City University’s Butterworth Conference Center.

Map of proposed facility. | Image from the State of Missouri Department Office of Administration Division of Facilities Management Design and Construction.

Attendees ranged from neighborhood leaders to business owners, ready to pose questions ranging from why this location was considered optimal to what type of services would be provided.

The proposed facility will house 200 patients, all who have been referred to the facility by the Department of Mental Health, which will operate the facility in conjunction with University Health. Both providers currently operate facilities in the Hospital Hill area of Kansas City, but need additional space to fully care for those with behavioral health needs.

The 15 acre site the state is seeking to acquire has been vacant since 2020, when the final debris from Chouteau Court public housing demolition was removed.  The site also includes former parkland known as Belvidere Park.

If approved by City Council, the state will provide the $300 million in funding for the site and facility construction.

The Northeast News will provide more detailed information as this story develops.