by Mary Rupert
As ground was broken Friday for the new Boulevard Lofts project near 8th and Washington Boulevard, community leaders expressed hope that the project will spark more development near the downtown Kansas City, Kansas, area.
“This project is what we call a catalytic project,” said Unified Government 4th District Commissioner Harold Johnson, “because we think it’s going to catalyze this area.”
Commissioner Johnson said the first UG master plan for the Northeast area, approved last November, is what is driving this development now.
“It’s going to change the landscape of this area,” Johnson said. “I’m just glad to see this day. Within 18 months or less, we plan to see a building standing here and doing a grand opening of the Boulevard Lofts.”
There will be more developments after this, with the whole neighborhood transformed, Johnson predicted. It will be a place where people can live close to downtown, with amenities all around it, he added.
“It’s going to be a transformative project that’s going to completely change the way this boulevard looks, the way this neighborhood looks, and how they socialize and interact with one another,” Kelley Hrabe, co-owner and founder of Prairie Fire Developer Group, the developer, said. Community Housing of Wyandotte County is a partner in this $ 11 million apartment project.
There will be a total 50 units. The 38-unit apartment project will be a mix of 1, 2 and 3-bedroom units, Hrabe said, and also some restricted units and some market-rate units, he said. Along Everett will be two six-plexes, Hrabe said.
“We feel that now’s a good time for downtown Kansas City, Kansas, with all the momentum, with KU Med, with the Merc, with other good developments that CHWC is doing, now’s the time to capitalize on that momentum and continue the great development that’s happening here,” Hrabe said.
UG 1st District at Large Commissioner Melissa Bynum, who went to high school at Sumner Academy, not far from the building site, said they are breaking ground on this project not only because the developer and team came together, but also because Beatrice Lee stayed and Beverly Easterwood stayed in the neighborhood, planned and dreamed.
Bynum said she had seen the decline and disinvestment in this area, and for years she wanted to be part of making this place beautiful, better and strong.
“To say I’m honored to be here today is a huge understatement,” Bynum said, “to be just a small part of a project that represents so much more than some new apartments. What we’re doing here is so much more. It’s a testament to Mrs. Lee and Ms. Easterwood, and all of their neighbors, never giving up on their neighbors, never giving up on this place they love. It’s a testament to the voices and the values of those of you who took the time to participate in planning your future, and the builders who believe that KCK is a good place to be. And it’s a vision for families who will have a safe home, here in the heart of Douglass-Sumner.”
Without the work of the Douglass-Sumner Neighborhood group, including Beverly Easterwood and Beatrice Lee, this project wouldn’t have been done, according to Hrabe.
Beverly Easterwood, president of the Douglass-Sumner Neighborhood, said the group has been involved in the project since the beginning, and the developer has listened intently to their suggestions.
“Mrs. (Beatrice) Lee had a vision a long time ago to clean up this community, to get rid of all the negative influences,” Easterwood said. “We were at the end of our life cycle in the neighborhood and we needed new development, so she wanted to prepare the neighborhood for that new development.”
“These guys had already laid the groundwork, they were just waiting for the opportunity. They had everything ready to go, it was just a matter of time until we came across them,” Hrabe said about Lee, Easterwood and the Douglass-Sumner Neighborhood.
Lee said this has been her life for several years, just building slowly, trying to get someone to listen to her and the Douglass-Sumner Neighborhood.
“Everything’s about where we live, how we live and what we’re going to leave for the legacy,” Lee said.
Easterwood said Lee and the neighborhood group have spent a lot of effort in the past to make sure to have the land prepared for new development. She believes this project will spur new development.
“We think people are laying back waiting for somebody else to get started,” Easterwood said. Now that it’s started, other developments should follow.
A member of the Douglass-Sumner Neighborhood, William C. Boyice Jr., said the project means quite a lot to him. Boyice is with the Tenth Street Jewelry shop, a family business on North 10th.
“If we can get some more housing maybe we can get some more enterprises here,” he said. “I grew up in this area, and lived here all my life. It’s good to see the change.”
“Mixed-use residential is the key for future redevelopment,” State Sen. David Haley, D-4th Dist., said. These developments draw residents of mixed incomes. He said he was always happy to see new developments.
Hrabe said co-development partner CHWC has been important to the project.
Brennan Crawford, executive director of CHWC, said historically, CHWC has been a single-family home builder. While home ownership is still at the core of what they do, everyone is beginning to recognize that affordable, high-quality rental housing is a critical component in the affordable housing crisis in the nation, he said.
This project will include an effort to integrate urban agriculture and gardening into Boulevard Lofts. It will include a garden and food demonstration center, with plans for honey production.
Through this partnership, CHWC will be providing access to good housing and healthy food for 50 families in the area, and that is transformative, Crawford said.
Fred Bentley, director of the Kansas Housing Resources Corp., said there are more than $100 million worth of projects going on now in Kansas City.
“We need more resources,” he said. “We need a lot of housing.”
Kansas Housing Resources Corp. put about $9 million in federal funding into this $11 million project, according to Hrabe. It will use affordable federal housing tax credits from KHRC.
The Board of Public Utilities has given a $250,000 economic development grant to the project, which was important to help get the financing done, Hrabe said. Also involved in this project are the UG, Boston Financial Investment Management, M1 Bank, ODIMO Architecture, Continental Consulting Engineers and Vireo.
Easterwood said a cleanup has been scheduled for Saturday morning at 8th and Washington Boulevard, and there will be a lunch and entertainment afterward starting at noon. Vegetation in the area will be cleared.
