The Unified Government Commission will consider a resolution to purchase the property for the Healthy Campus project at its 7 p.m. meeting Thursday, Nov. 30, at the Commission Chambers, lobby level, City Hall, 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kansas.
The Healthy Campus topic also will be discussed at a 5 p.m. UG Commission meeting Nov. 30 at the fifth floor conference room of City Hall.
According to the UG agenda, the proposed resolution would allow the UG administrator to exercise options to purchase property necessary to build the Healthy Campus project and to enter into contracts for pre-construction architecture and engineering costs of up to $2 million. The project is estimated at $40 million.
Mayor Mark Holland has been working on a Healthy Campus project for several years. It is proposed to include a YMCA building and a grocery store in the downtown Kansas City, Kansas, area. It was most recently proposed for an area near the existing JFK Community Center, now called the Beatrice Lee Community Center, and Big 11 Lake at 10th and State Avenue, and 10th and Minnesota Avenue.
According to a news release from the mayor’s office, about $6 million has been raised by donations in Greater Kansas City toward building a new community center, to be operated by the Greater Kansas City YMCA. The news release stated that a grocery store operator is close to signing a letter of intent to negotiate.
According to the mayor’s news release, the UG is applying for New Markets Tax Credits to help fund the project, and that is why the resolution is being proposed at this time. A decision to award tax credits could be made in December or January, and the level of local investment will be considered in that decision.
“I’m very encouraged by the progress we’ve made,” Mayor Holland said in the news release. “The Healthy Campus will not only address the need for a quality grocery store downtown and state-of-the art community center, but will also help revitalize a part of downtown that currently offers few services to our residents.”