Kansas City officials approved a plan to preserve Parade Park Homes — the oldest Black-owned housing co-op in the city — months after it went under foreclosure and faced an uncertain future.
The city council voted unanimously on Thursday to authorize City Manager Brian Platt to strike an agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to acquire the properties and then transfer them to a private developer. The foreclosure sale date for Parade Park — a 510-unit co-op located near downtown Kansas City and the historic 18th and Vine district — is set for March 2024.
Officials say the arrangement would also protect Kansas City from responsibility for a $10 million HUD loan.
Debra Williams has lived in Parade Park for eight years. She said she’s been in limbo, not knowing what will happen to the community.
“I’m hoping for a positive outcome for the future of Parade Park for generations to come,” she said.
The city’s acquisition of Parade Park from HUD is contingent on HUD placing the highest bid on the properties at the foreclosure sale. A HUD document confirms it intends to submit a bid on Parade Park. The minimum bid amount is set at $11,994,175.02.
If HUD’s bid is successful, it will transfer the property to Kansas City, which will pay $10 for the properties and then give it to Flaherty & Collins Properties, a real estate developer based in Indianapolis. The city chose Flaherty & Collins from a slew of proposals submitted between Oct. and Dec. 1.
According to a HUD document from November, the developer will have 24 to 36 months to complete its redevelopment of Parade Park, which will include $18.9 million in capital improvements.
Parade Park was established in 1963 and includes 510 units, 225 of which are occupied. As a housing co-op, residents own a share of the nonprofit that controls Parade Park instead of renting. A board of directors manages the cooperative's finances and oversees business.
The acquisition plan follows months of uncertainty for residents, years of deteriorating conditions at Parade Park and decades of infighting among board members. Last year, HUD took federal control of Parade Park after inspections revealed dangerous living conditions and determined that the cooperative violated its regulatory agreement.
It then passed management to a Virginia-based Leumas Residential, LLC, which conducted maintenance on the property, hired security and sealed vacant units.
Third District Councilmember Melissa Robinson supports the plan, and said Parade Park was a point of pride for Kansas City.
“It’s really important that we bring Parade Park back to its prominence and that we fulfill the promise of Parade Park to the community at large,” she said.
Officials say the subsequent development agreement with Flaherty & Collins will include a community benefits agreement to address union participation, climate resiliency, homeownership options for residents, and maintaining the historical value and significance of Parade Park. It will also have relocation plans in place to ensure Parade Park residents are not displaced by the redevelopment.
Conditions of the sale include protections for the 225 residents of Parade Park and residents’ right to return to their units. According to HUD documents, 87 low-income households would receive Tenant Protection Vouchers and 61 tenants identified as very low income will be protected from rent increases for two years.
Williams hopes Parade Park will remain affordable after it’s redeveloped.
“Personally, I could not afford to go out here and rent something, say, downtown,” she said.
The Kansas City ordinance states that if negotiations fall through, City Manager Platt must notify city council within 48 hours and reconvene a committee to look at other applicants who were interested in redeveloping Parade Park.
