Rosedale residents who spoke at the Unified Government Commission meeting on Thursday night asked the UG to tear down the Rosedale Ridge apartments, which have experienced fires in the last two days.
Erin Stryka, executive director of the Rosedale Development Association, said this morning’s fire was the third time in six months that the apartment complex has had a fire. The fire this morning was at 2025 S. Mill St.
She said the apartment complex has deteriorated and “has become so dangerous that we cannot let the situation continue.”
Stryka said if it continues without anything being done, probably eventually someone would die in a fire.
Firefighters responded to a fire at the Rosedale Ridge complex on Wednesday, at a vacant building. Another building was on fire on Thursday morning.
Max Evans, who lives nearby, said residents have been investing in their properties in the area, but the neighborhood is starting to turn.
Barbara Clark Evans said the Rosedale Ridge buildings were a hazard and an eyesore, and residents are asking to have them torn down.
Another Rosedale resident spoke and said he thinks the Rosedale Ridge vacant apartments are a magnet for crime, and if there is one day a death there, the owners should be held responsible.
The residents made their remarks during the community input portion of the UG Commission meeting on Thursday night.
The cause of the fires is undetermined and is under investigation, according to KCK Fire Department officials.