A team led by a minority, woman-owned development company wants to transform a long-standing symbol of disinvestment into a thriving mixed-use, mixed-income project in Kansas City’s historic Oak Park neighborhood.
LocalCode Kansas City, together with Chip Walsh of Mercier Street LLC, is advancing a $27.2 million remake of the former Sanford B. Ladd School site, which closed in 2010 at 3640 Benton Blvd. and since has sat vacant.
The partners bought the 3.6-acre property from Kansas City Public Schools in March 2022 and now have plans and a rezoning request set for the City Plan Commission’s review on Dec. 19.
The proposal encompasses both a renovation of the former Ladd school, which dates to 1912, and new construction on its grounds just north.
The plan includes as many as 75 apartments, with 25 to 27 units in the former school’s upper two floors, plus 36 to 48 units in a quartet of Kansas City Colonnade-style walk-up townhomes built along Benton Boulevard.
Of the total units, 10% will be set aside for renters earning up to 50% of the area’s median family income (MFI), with 20% reserved for those making up to 70% MFI.
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