Dorri Partain
Managing Editor

Preservationists involved in the grassroots group, Save Smith Hall, attended the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) hearing on Friday, Dec. 19 at City Hall to support the application to place this 98 year old structure on Kansas City’s Register of Historic Places.

Located at the intersection of Independence Blvd. and Highland Ave., Smith Hall sits inside the campus boundaries of Kansas City University (KCU). In August, KCU requested demolition permits for two adjacent properties, 1726 and 1710 Independence Blvd., for construction of a new building to enhance medical research opportunities for its students.

Both properties were reviewed in September by HPC in accordance with ordinance #241070 to assess each building’s historical, cultural or architectural significance. An annex building addressed at 1726 was approved for demolition but 1710, known as Smith Hall, was approved for a 45-day hold from demolition based on criteria for the National Register of Historic Places.

Brad Wolf, director of the City’s Historic Preservation office, explained that Smith Hall, built in 1927 as the Nurses’ Residence, was eligible for the register based on Criteria C, based on the type of architecture and architects.

During the Dec. 19 docket, Case No.CH–PRES-2025-00003, an application through the Pendleton Heights Neighborhood Association, was combined with an application through the Kansas City Bungalow Club, both seeking placement on the Kansas City register. To support this application, Pendleton Heights residents John Bordeau and Jonathan Cokely were joined by Scarritt Renaissance resident Virginia Bettencourt.

With a 15-minute time limit, these supporters quickly presented their case.

Cokely, president of the Pendleton Heights Neighborhood Association, stated that members of the association felt responsible to advocate for a building that serves as a landmark to their neighborhood.

“When we get to the heart of what makes this building an historic landmark,“ Cokely said, referring to Smith Hall, “it is about the Pendleton Heights neighborhood being an historic neighborhood where preservation is highly valued. And this building, as a building that stands at the entry point of the neighborhood, it is one of the first buildings people see when entering or exiting the neighborhood from the west, that it signals the arrival to an historic neighborhood. In turn it plays with the rest of the Pendleton Heights neighborhood’s designation.” 

Prior to a power point presentation, Bordeau spoke about the footprint of the university and how it’s continued to expand into the nearby neighborhood.

“Over the last 50 years, they (KCU) have demolished over 16 buildings in our neighborhood, and that’s why we want this one saved,” said Bordeau. 

In addition to photos of homes and apartments that have been removed, he also mentioned that several streets have been closed, making vehicular access to the neighborhood more difficult.

Bettencourt offered testimony regarding the building’s architects, Hoit, Price & Barnes, and their many contributions to the landscape of Kansas City. Through the decades this team designed well-known structures including buildings for Kansas City Power & Light, Fidelity Bank, R.A. Long and Southwestern Bell, as well as local structures Independence Boulevard Christian Church and Corinthian Hall. 

All of these buildings have already been placed on the Historic Register.

“This wealth of history, the wealth of architecture, is why we’re all here,” said Bettencourt. “This is what we love about Kansas City, I believe. This is what I love about Kansas City.”

In conclusion, Bettencourt asked the commission to imagine what it would be like to drive down Independence Avenue and not see Smith Hall.

“I can’t imagine it, because it’s such an icon to Northeast,” Bettencourt said.

With a few minutes remaining, Jan Bentley, founder and president of the Kansas City Bungalow Club, explained that her group made an application also because Smith Hall was important to many neighborhoods in Kansas City, not just Pendleton Heights. She also asked that the commission review Criteria A, a building’s association with events or a significant contribution.

Bentley also championed adaptive reuse of Smith Hall, with examples of other educational institutions that have succeeded.

“It may eventually be their (KCU) legal right to demolish Smith Hall,” said Bentley. “But it is not their moral right to continue to dismantle the history of the area,”

In opposition to this case, KCU representatives were also allowed 15 minutes.

Attorney Jim Bowers began his remarks, stating that he planned to show the commission that Smith Hall did not meet the criteria of the application, that the Master Plan Development approved by City Council in 2017 noted that Smith Hall may be removed, and the economic impact of retaining or reusing said building.

Architect Liz Ponder,Helix Architecture +Design, testified that she had worked on a reuse plan for Smith Hall since 2016 but the building’s floor plate was very narrow and cantered and the floor height was too low for modern usage.

She stated, “It is possible but beyond the cost and complexity that is reasonable to ask for a building owner to take on.”

Ponder told the commission that she recommended that KCU should not pursue the project. She also presented a report from Heritage, an independent preservation consultant, which determined the design of Smith Hall was not an exceptional example of Hoit, Price & Barnes work and therefore did not meet Criteria C.

In conclusion, the university team presented evidence that the economic impact included competition from other medical institutions with new, modern facilities which might better attract students and faculty.

Following both presentations, testimonials to support or oppose the case were allowed a one minute time frame. Northeast representatives that testified in support of the application were Michael Bushnell, Kent Dicus, Cindy Kihn, Christy Maddox, and Diane Faelber, in addition to one midtown resident.

There was no testimony given to support demolition.

HPC chair Michael Hardin told the attendees that the purpose of their commission was to recommend or deny the case based on the criteria and if recommended the case would next need to gain the approval of the City Plan Commission and City Council. Prior to their vote, HPC commission members discussed the impact of exterior alterations of Smith Hall in 1993 and whether the building’s architectural style —- Colonial Revival/ Georgian Revival —- was the best example of design by architects Hoit, Price & Barnes.

A motion to recommend was offered by commission member Sarah Legg under Criteria A, as the building has always been used to support health care in Kansas City, and Criteria C, a good example of the architectural style. The motion was seconded by Walter Guth and garnered the five votes needed to advance to the next step of the approval process.

More than a dozen supporters in attendance exited the meeting room, excited to gain the approval of the commission but understanding there are more hurdles ahead.

Photos by Dorri Partain