A new housing development was recently celebrated at 7th and Oakland in Kansas City, Kan. The place is Douglass-Sumner neighborhood.
The new homes are among the first new houses built in the area in more than 50 years. This is mainly due to several organizations collaborating together to make it happen, according to officials at a ribbon-cutting on Thursday. The organizations are Community Housing of Wyandotte County and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County. They collaborated with LISC, an organization dedicated to building better communities.
Hope is alive and well in the Douglass- Sumner neighborhood, according to Beatrice Lee, president of the Douglass-Sumner Neighborhood Association.
“We will continue to build houses to bring back our neighborhood. I’m so proud of the accomplishments. A lot of people said it could not happen but I knew it would. Thank you for all of our partners who have been part of the success. We couldn’t have done it without you,” Lee said.
“These new homes and the engagement of the Douglass-Sumner residents are examples of progress being made through neighborhoods now,” she said.
Community stakeholders work together to successfully implement their neighborhood goals, demonstrating that comprehensive community development can prevail, said Stephen Samuels, Greater Kansas City LISC executive director.
“We plan to invest another $1.2 million in this project,” Samuels said.
This project is a prime example of what is going on here in Kansas City, Kan., people working together to create a greater quality of life.
“I’m really proud of what we have achieved here,” said Mayor Mark Holland. “After all this is what we’re about in Wyandotte County.”
LISC is the nation’s largest community development organization. It supports redevelopment projects such as this one. It was founded in 1981 and is a 501c3 organization. It helps transform communities that were at one time much blighted into healthy communities by working within various partnerships, such as neighborhood associations and local government entities. So far they have leveraged $610 million in total development, a spokesman said.