Plans for affordable housing at former Marlborough School move forward

KSHB 41reporter Megan Abundis has covered stories in the Marlborough Neighborhood in south Kansas City about neighbors helping neighbors lift the area up .

The neighborhood will now get a big boost from a planned development at a former school building.

A decommissioned KCPS school , Marlborough School, 1300 E. 75th Street, was built in 1927.

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Darryl Cushon lives close to the building.

“We’re across the street from Marlborough School," Cushon said. "I’ve been staying here for 40 years. A lot of my neighbors have been here 40, 50, 60 years. We are well-established where we are at.”

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Cushon's daughter went to the school.

He's seen the property sit empty for 20 years.

“I would love to see it lit back up," he said. "All that lights on and everything."

Inside the old building, light shines through broken windows on the work that needs to happen.

After the school was decommissioned in 2007, a handful of people tried to make the building into something the neighborhood could use.

But there were problems, including an issue with financing.

Now there is new hope with plans from The Kansas City Community Land Trust .

“This is a part of town that has been historically disinvested in,” said Kyle Ferden with The Kansas City Community Land Trust.

The land trust is in the process of restoring Marlborough School and calls the process a creative opportunity to take the area back.

"I think we have the pieces in place and the right partners to get this done,” said Ferden. “The community itself deserves to have this be something."

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Ferden is leading the $10 million development, Marlborough Common, that includes turning two floors into affordable housing units, an entrepreneurial space downstairs, and plans for more units outside.

“I want people to be excited," he said. "This is a really creative way to take back communities, save existing homes and properties from gentrification, from Airbnb’s, from out-of-state investors and really get a stake back.” said.

He says the difference between a standard developer and the land trust is the trust shares the burden of property ownership with different options including, rentals, rent-to-own, and condominium options.

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“This is the first chance that a lot of people have to live that American Dream; to own a home and invest in a home in their community," he said. "And if we have to do a little bit of legal creativity on the front end, then I think it’s well worth it. We can kind of fill a gap and make some corrections where the folks in the past dropped the ball.”

His plan includes 22 units in the school and an additional 30 units in the parking lot.

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Ferden says prices would range from $800 to $1,300 a month.

He said those prices would be permanent for as long as someone lives in the development.

“The building means so much to so many people in the neighborhood," Ferden said. "We wanted to kind of build this to where people can live in this long-term."

It’s that same appreciation for the area that Darryl Cushon also is concerned about.

“We don’t mind them putting the apartments in the school, we don’t mind that at all," Cushon said. "We would love to see it lit up and all that, but the six buildings you put here no, not at all."

Cushon is concerned about parking spaces available for those who live on the property and in the neighborhood.

“We already have our own traffic around here and you’re talking about putting in 50 more units,” he said.

The next step is a Kansas City Missouri, public planning commission hearing on September 4th.

KCCLT has 25 other properties currently owner-occupied or under development across the metro.

“We have agreements with various community partners, the Land Bank, and other folks in town to develop 100-plus more land trust properties over the next two to three years," Ferden said.