Parade Park

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas expects to vote yes when he heads to the polls on April 2 to vote on the 3/8-cent stadium sales tax extension. But with many questions still up in the air about how a downtown ballpark would impact small businesses and more, the mayor wants answers sooner rather than later.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced earlier this year that it would foreclose on Parade Park, a townhouse complex that once was a symbol of pride for Black Kansas City families. Under the plan, Kansas City would buy the properties from HUD and then transfer them to a private developer to rehabilitate.

The possibility of foreclosure has loomed over Parade Park Homes for more than a year. Now that it's happening, some residents are relieved. But without clear plans for what the changes entail, others are nervous they'll be priced out of their homes.

The cooperative faces threats of foreclosure and the displacement of residents from the affordable housing complex.

Foreclosure has been on the table at Parade Park Homes, an aging housing cooperative in the 18th and Vine District, for months now. But due to a recent update, the possibility of foreclosure seems even more real.

Parade Park was a symbol of pride for Black families in Kansas City who finally got their chance at home ownership — but the neighborhood may not survive redevelopment. Plus, staff shortages are forcing Missouri school districts to consider four-day weeks.

As Kansas City’s first Black-owned housing co-op, Parade Park helped residents pursue the American Dream of owning a home and building a community. But after 60 years, it’s uncertain if it can survive foreclosure and redevelopment.

Kansas City's Parade Park, one of the country's oldest Black housing cooperatives, has been deteriorating for years. Now it's running out of time before it faces foreclosure. Plus: How one broker is trying to increase Black homeownership in Kansas City's urban core.

The historic but crumbling Kansas City housing cooperative, designed in the 1960s for Black families, faces a July 7 deadline to propose repairs. Without a plan, the Department of Housing and Urban Development could pull back on a $10 million loan it guaranteed.