Historic Kansas City, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of the area’s heritage, neighborhoods and historic built environment, recently presented an award for the restoration of the historic Simmons Funeral Home building in Argentine into apartments there.
The preservation award in the community catalyst category was presented to Henry Sandate, chairman of the Argentine Neighborhood Development Association, and Ann Murguia, executive director of ANDA.
“This award goes to a project, individual, business or group that has greatly contributed to the reinvestment in or revitalization of a historic neighborhood,” Sandate, who is a State Farm insurance agent, said in a news release. “We are proud to do what we can to maintain Kansas City’s historic integrity.”
The building restructured was the Simmons Villas Senior Apartments in the history-rich Argentine, a mature urban neighborhood in Kansas City with a stable population that was showing signs of decay despite the community vitality and loyalty of its residents. ANDA was formed in 2004 to revitalize the neighborhood and counteract the symptoms of decay.
“A major initial strategy has been to provide quality, affordable energy-efficient housing to attract moderate-income families back to Argentine,” Sandate said. “The goal is to balance the abundance of subsidized, very-low-income housing and create a more mixed-income neighborhood.”
In addition to the new housing, ANDA has successfully coordinated public and private resources to improve the streets, curbs and sidewalks, which are ongoing priorities of the organization. ANDA is also addressing the commercial blight in the area.
“This involves seeking out potential commercial operations, thinking in terms of a master plan for the area and bringing in experts to help determine effective strategies,” Sandate said.