Dorri Partain
Managing Editor

Demolition began on Monday, Sept. 23 to remove a six-plex apartment unit within Scarritt Renaissance’s neighborhood (3236 Anderson Ave). This three-story building was declared a “Dangerous Building”following a wall collapse in January — setting off a lengthy process for its safe removal.

When the wall collapsed, several tenants were still living within the building — though the unit with the collapsed wall was already vacant.Joseph Quinn — owner of a rental property next door — had contacted the Kansas City 311 Action Center in 2023 with his concerns about the building’s stability. Additionally, he had contacted the property’s owner — Birdcage Enterprizes LLC — but no action to repair the building or remove tenants was taken.

To protect Quinn’s property from falling bricks and other building debris — which had already fallen onto his property — contractors hired by the building’s owners constructed a makeshift barricade with two-by-four lumber and sheets of particle board. A Stay on Demolition expired in May and the City of Kansas City’s Dangerous Buildings department proceeded with a contract for demolition.

Statistics provided by the Dangerous Building department indicate an increase in properties demolished by the city — with 44 in 2022, 82 in 2023 — and at this point in 2024 — 75 properties within  Kansas City limits.

For more on this story, read our previous coverage: https://northeastnews.net/pages/opinion-doing-the-dangerous-building-shuffle/.