Silver City Park might become a site for a housing development one day if a proposal before the Unified Government goes forward.
The UG Commission is scheduled to consider a resolution on Thursday night that would schedule a public hearing on the effort to amend the Silver City Urban Renewal Plan to allow the UG to sell the property for residential and other uses.
The park, which has been closed to the public since before consolidation in 1997, is at South 25th Street and Lawrence Avenue in Kansas City, Kan., near the Silver City Elementary School.
Just under 40 acres, the usable park ground is about 10 acres, said Marlon Goff of the UG Economic Development Department, at Monday night’s standing committee meeting. The park land was acquired by the city from the Urban Renewal Agency in 1975, he said.
He said there were no plans to add park equipment or improvements to the grounds. During the 20 years the park has been closed, the UG has mowed the open space and controlled weeds on the property, he said. However, structures on the property including a shelter house are not in good condition.
“Residential uses is one we feel pretty strongly about,” Goff said. The park is next to other single-family residences that are well-maintained, and is close to schools and stores, a library and interstate access, he said. There are other parks in the area that have recently been improved, he said.
If a resolution to set a public hearing is approved Thursday, the date of the public hearing would be at 7 p.m. June 25 in the Commission Chambers, lobby level, City Hall, 701 N. 7th St.