By Paul Thompson

Northeast News

February 23, 2017

KANSAS CITY, Missouri – By a 10-2 vote, the KCMO City Council approved Kansas City University’s proposed Master Planned Development (MPD) district during its February 23 meeting.

The MPD will enable KCU to proceed with expansion plans that include a new $30 million Center for Medical and Surgical Simulation on its Historic Northeast campus. The MPD ordinance did draw criticism from historic preservationists, however, due to plans to demolish the century-old Colonial Court apartments located at 502-520 Maple Blvd. After the ordinance passed, KCU attorney Jim Bowers, Jr. indicated that the University had agreed before the meeting that any salvageable building materials would be donated to a local non-profit for re-use, when and if Colonial Court was demolished.

KCU Director of Capital Projects Tim Saxe said that the University is eager to commence with its expansion plan – which includes relocated parking where Colonial Court now stands – in order to accommodate the school’s growing enrollment. Saxe said that KCU will look to file demolition paperwork on Colonial Court “as soon as is practical.”

When asked about the construction for the $30 million Center for Medical and Surgical Simulation, Saxe indicated that plans will proceed quickly.

“In the next calendar year, we’ll want to be breaking ground,” said Saxe.

During the meeting, 6th District Councilman Scott Taylor acknowledged that there had been significant discussions about the ordinance during the Feb. 15 Planning, Zoning, and Economic Development committee meeting, but noted that it had nevertheless passed unanimously out of the committee in stating his support.

Though 1^st District Councilman Scott Wagner voted in favor of the ordinance, citing the weight he placed on the support from directly adjoining neighborhoods, he cautioned that the long-debated disagreement between KCMO legal staff and KCU attorneys over how the Pendleton Heights Historic Overlay district fits over the MPD will likely come up again.

“I would certainly not be surprised if this is not the last time that we talk about this issue,” said Wagner.

The no votes from the Council came from 4th Councilwomen Katheryn Shields and Jolie Justus. Shields, a strong historic preservationist, said that the City’s “law department and the attorneys for the developers are at odds” over what exactly can or can’t be done with the ordinance, and indicated her belief that the issue could end up in court.

In the end, Shields argued that the proposed demolition of Colonial Court should go before the Historic Preservation Commission for consideration.

“I think there’s a process there for reviewing them, and I think that process should be allowed to go forward,” Shields said.