Building a Strong Commuity

Monday, I joined Secretary Julian Castro of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, along with Mayor Sly James, in announcing a $30 million Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Implementation Grant for the Housing Authority of Kansas City (HAKC) and the City of Kansas City. This money will deliver resources to and for residents and aid in the enhancement of neighborhoods and citizens’ lives.

The Choice Neighborhoods program supports locally driven strategies to address struggling neighborhoods. The program sustains neighborhoods with distressed public or HUD-assisted housing through a comprehensive approach to transformation. Known as the Paseo Gateway project, Kansas City’s vision focuses on a 450 acre area just east of Downtown that serves as a major entrance to the Historic Northeast. The proposal includes redeveloping the isolated, 134-unit Chouteau Courts public housing project, which sits on top of an old landfill and is bordered by two interstate highways. In its place, a multi-phased mixed-income community will be built that includes 360 units. The plan also calls for increasing public safety, spurring economic growth through commercial investment, and improving the health and wellbeing for those in the community by rejuvenating key corridors, parks, and vacant properties.

The project is the result of an extensive cooperative effort of over 30 stakeholder and partner organizations in the Pendleton Heights, Independence Plaza, and Paseo West Neighborhoods that included neighbors, public housing residents, businesses, community non-profits and educational institutions. As the first Choice Neighborhoods implementation grant awarded in Missouri (previously HAKC received a planning grant for this project), this funding will help revitalize the community. It will also help leverage over $100 million in additional investments to reinvigorate the neighborhood, benefiting the entire Kansas City region.

I am thrilled that our community will be a recipient of the Choice Neighborhoods grant. This is a reflection of the strong collaborative spirit of many individuals and organizations in our community. The $30 million will serve as a catalyst towards revitalizing the Paseo Gateway neighborhood and will bring much needed resources and opportunities to its residents. I am proud to have supported this project throughout the process and look forward to its strong impact on Kansas City.

Warmly,