Developers have Southmoreland Neighborhood in a TIF

By Mark Forsythe The Kansas City Post One of my favorite running routes passes through a beautiful little enclave at the southern edge of the Southmoreland neighborhood. From the Kemper Museum I head down Walnut, past the bed and breakfast and The Simpson House; then around the curve and east on 46th Street in front of the early 20th century brick apartment buildings before spilling out at Southmoreland Park. These little brick apartment buildings have served as home for many college students; Plaza restaurant wait staff; retail workers; young singles as well as retirees who can't afford the luxurious confines of Oak Tower or The Sophian. They are of the same vintage as the apartments torn down at the opposite end of the Plaza for the West Edge development and are more or less the last of their kind in the Plaza area still available as rentals. In this morning's Kansas City Star we read that once again our diminishing stock of affordable housing is being assaulted by developers looking to make a quick buck at the expense of a charming neighborhood. The Wilson Development Group consists of siblings swimming in Texas oil money looking to level the entire block of apartment buildings so they can erect a luxury hotel; condos with an average $360,000 asking price; a 400-space parking garage; and two restaurants. And what better project manager to hire than Ray Braswell? Mr. Braswell has experience with tearing down friendly little brick apartment buildings. He was the developer on the aforementioned West Edge project. Councilperson Beth Gottstein is "impressed" that the Wilson brothers and Ray Braswell "came to the neighborhood and asked, 'What do you think?'" She must be easily impressed. Perhaps Ms. Gottstein should ask the West Plaza neighborhood "What they think?" about their experiences in the exact same situation. They too were asked 'What do you think?' before West Edge Development went ahead and did what they were going to do anyway. There's a big difference between "What do you think?" and "We will defer to the wishes of the neighborhood." Beware developers bearing foam board renderings and asking "What do you think?" History tells us that there's already a bulldozer parked outside. So not only does the Wilson Group want to tear down some more of Kansas City's history and evict the very people who work in neighborhood businesses, they want the taxpayers to help them do it. In a neighborhood that principal Andrew Wilson describes as "one of the best places in the country for this kind of project" in almost the same breath asks us to chip in about $15 million in TIF for a parking garage. If "one of the best places in the country" needs a $15 million handout to make the numbers work, maybe we should all just pack it in and go home. There's no hope for any of us. How much taxpayer assistance would a project need in a "least desirable area?" Has everyone forgotten what TIF is for?! I'm told that at the the July meeting with the neighborhood, Mr. Braswell implied that TIF would not work on the east side of Kansas City right now but this project was a logical "bridge towards Troost" to enable TIF-backed development to gradually work its way east. That's a bit of a stretch. I'm also told that perhaps the biggest open mouth insert foot moment of the evening was when Mr. Braswell implied that the current residents of the apartments were somehow less than desirable for the Southmoreland neighborhood. It was at that point that the associate pastor of the Community Christian Church where the meeting was being held informed the developers that she is one of the "riff raff" of which they were so magnanimously offering to rid the neighborhood. I would say that moment must have been "priceless" but at the tune of $15 million I it's more appropriate to say "pricey." This should be an easy "no" for the current TIF Commission and City Council. No to tearing down affordable housing; No to wiping out part of the historic charm of Southmoreland and the Plaza; and a great big NO to using taxpayer dollars to line the pockets of insensitive developers. And one final note to the people casting aspersions on the "riff raff" living in the 46th Street apartments? A lot of those people work in the see and be seen restaurants you love to frequent. Just about everyone I know, myself included has at one time or another worked in the service industry and can tell you it is never, NEVER a good idea to insult the people that handle your food. Just my own little piece of free advice. No TIF required...