Historic Simmons building turned into apartments in Argentine

The former Simmons Funeral Home at 37th and Strong Avenue, Kansas City, Kan., has been turned into apartments.

The Simmons Senior Villas project held its ribbon-cutting earlier this month, and the historic building in Argentine has been adapted into seven apartments.

The renovation of the historic Simmons building is just half of the project that was developed by the Argentine Neighborhood Development Association, in partnership with Newmark Grubb and Zimmer, according to Ann Murguia, ANDA executive director.

The second part of the project is the renovation of the former El Centro building at 1333 S. 27th St. That building also has a historic background as a railroad layover dormitory in former times, built in 1930.

Argentine residents wanted to save the old Simmons building, but there were not a lot of uses that it could find for the historic building, so the Simmons building was converted into a seven-unit apartment complex, Murguia said.

The $5.5 million renovation project will be housing for those 55 and older, she said.

Some of the final touches are being put on the building currently, and it is expected to be ready for tenants after Dec. 1, she said. There is no lack of interest from prospective tenants.

“We have had over 25 people on a list for several months now,” Murguia said. “The interest has been overwhelming.”

The recent ribbon-cutting was done in 1920s-style, she said, with 1920s music, hors d’oeuvres and champagne.

Murguia described the price range of the apartments as “affordable.”

The old El Centro building includes a huge lobby area that is “breathtakingly beautiful,” Murguia said. Visitors during the open house earlier this month remarked about its appearance, she added. There will be a kitchen or dining area in some of the larger space there.

She said she hopes to use the community space there for a variety of purposes, including programs for people 55 and older.

Simmons is a smaller building, and it will have a mini-community space, she added.

Murguia remarked that the top property owner in Argentine currently is the Housing Authority. As Argentine has grown and prospered, adding developments, there is a greater demand for higher-end housing and better quality housing, she said. ANDA is trying to cater to that market and raise the standard of living in the Argentine area, she added. The Simmons building is in the Sixth Commission District.

It was nice to be able to take two attractive historic buildings and preserve them, especially when there is not a lot of attractive historic property that is well preserved in Argentine, she said.

Those who toured the old Simmons building were mostly interested in security, and Murguia said each apartment would have its own security system.

The Simmons building was not always a funeral home. It was built in 1921 as a 20-room hospital for Dr. David E. Clopper, according to its National Register of Historic Places application. The building was placed on the National Register in 2014. Besides being a surgeon for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad railroad, Clopper also served as Argentine mayor and a bank president.

When Dr. Clopper died in 1935, George Simmons and his son Gib bought the building and used it as a mortuary. The Simmons family continued to operate the funeral home until 2007.

Fred S. Wilson, a local architect, designed the Simmons building in the Mission and Craftsman styles. The building is noted for its terra cotta ornamentation and clay tile roof, as well as iron ornamentation.

Wilson’s other local projects included the H.W. Gates funeral home building in Rosedale, Brown Road Methodist Episcopal Church in the Argentine area and an apartment building on the northeast corner of 25th and Minnesota Avenue, according to the historic site application.

In 1921, when the Simmons building was constructed, its cost was $350,000, Murguia said, a huge amount of money in those days.

“We pulled up carpeting and tiles in the hallway and were able to refinish the 1921 wood floor and to preserve it,” she said.

The wood floor was made out of fir, and was able to accept some water damage through the years and recover. Had it been oak, it might have been destroyed by past flooding and roof leaks, she added.

Currently, some historic photographs from the Simmons family that detail the history of Argentine are on temporary display at the Simmons building, she added.

Like several other historic property projects that have been done in the past few years in Kansas City, Kan., this project received historic tax credits from the state of Kansas, as well as federal historic tax credits, Murguia said. The affordable tax credits allow the rent to be lower, while it is still a step above Section 8 types of projects, she added.

Many offices closed for Thanksgiving

The Unified Government offices are among many to be closed on Thursday, Nov. 26, for the Thanksgiving holiday.

The UG offices also will be closed Friday, Nov. 27. Offices will reopen Monday, Nov. 30.

The Board of Public Utilities administrative offices and customer service lobby will be closed Thursday, Nov. 26, and Friday, Nov. 27, for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Emergency service will be available. For power emergencies, customers may call 913-573-9522. For water emergencies, call 573-9622 from 8 a.m. to midnight on weekdays, and 573-9522 from midnight to 8 a.m. and during weekends and holidays.

The Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools are closed Wednesday, Nov. 25, through Friday, Nov. 27, and will reopen Monday, Nov. 30. Other school districts in Wyandotte County are on a similar schedule.

Kansas City Kansas Community College also is on Thanksgiving holiday, starting Monday, Nov. 23. Classes resume Monday, Nov. 30.

Deffenbaugh will not pick up trash on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day. Trash pickup will be delayed one day for those whose trash is usually picked up Thursday or Friday.

Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 26, is a federal holiday.

Post offices will be closed and mail will not be delivered on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26.

Most banks are closed on Thanksgiving Day.

The state of Kansas offices will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 26, and Friday, Nov. 27.

The Kansas City, Kan., Public Libraries will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 26, and Friday, Nov. 27.

The Turner Community Library Branch also will be closed on Saturday, Nov. 28.

Alzheimer’s panelists point to progress in diagnosis, treatment

by Mike Sherry, Heartland Health Monitor

Two University of Kansas Medical Center researchers at the forefront of national efforts to treat Alzheimer’s disease said scientists are making strides toward reducing the prevalence of a condition that affects as many as 5.1 million Americans.

Key aims include detecting the disease early and halting its progression, said Dr. Jeffrey Burns, a leader of the KU Alzheimer’s Disease Center.

“We think that day is coming,” said Burns, who spoke Monday at a public forum on the KU Medical Center campus in Kansas City, Kan. The KU Alzheimer’s Disease Center co-sponsored the event with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The KU Alzheimer’s Disease Center is one of 29 federally designated centers through the National Institute on Aging.

Burns and Dr. Russell Swerdlow, the director of the center, outlined some of the research at the center, which includes studies on how exercise can prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer’s.

Some data suggest 75 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise a week can have a positive effect, Burns said.

Alzheimer’s researchers, he said, now have a diagnostic method in which a dye injected into the body can highlight the buildup in the brain of a protein linked to Alzheimer’s before any outward symptoms appear.

Swerdlow is researching the link between brain energy metabolism and Alzheimer’s. He also is experimenting with stem cells in animal models to stimulate growth of brain cells.

The forum also featured a number of other panelists, including representatives from local service and advocacy organizations.

Other panelists suggested the need for greater focus on people with developmental disabilities and the need for innovative ways to assist people with Alzheimer’s disease and their families – such as establishing day programs for people not yet suffering from advanced forms of the disease.

Linda Elam, a deputy assistant secretary with HHS, said the U.S. health care bill for Alzheimer’s and related dementias is about $109 billion a year. In addition, she said, family caregivers collectively miss out on about $50 billion in wages because of their responsibilities.

“Even given that dismal background, we have reason to hope,” she said.

Elam pointed to the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease, established nearly five years ago with the enactment of the National Alzheimer’s Project Act. The aim of the plan is to:

• coordinate Alzheimer’s disease research and services across all federal agencies.
• accelerate the development of treatments that would prevent, halt or reverse the course of Alzheimer’s disease.
• improve early diagnosis and coordination of care and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.
• decrease disparities in Alzheimer’s disease for ethnic and racial minority populations that are at higher risk for the condition.
• work with international bodies to fight Alzheimer’s disease globally.

The goal is to find a way to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer’s by 2025.

“Will we make it by 2025? I’m not sure,” Elam said. “But we are driving very hard toward it.”

The nonprofit KHI News Service is an editorially independent initiative of the Kansas Health Institute and a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor reporting collaboration. All stories and photos may be republished at no cost with proper attribution and a link back to KHI.org when a story is reposted online.

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