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Neighborhood Promised House Rehab And Gets Ugly 8-Plex

That’s at least what neighbors in the Volker area (just north of KU Med) are claiming. Apparently, a property purchased by a doctor at KU Med was slated to be rehabilitated but developers later had the site rezoned and a got a permit issued to build an 8-plex. The owner of the property claims the new apartment building will house “on call doctors” working at the hospital. The result? The neighborhood is fired up for being promised one thing, while the developer moved ahead with plans for something completely different.

I’m typically in favor of increased density, but one does have to wonder about the appropriateness of dropping an 8-plex apartment building into a neighborhood of 100 year old single family homes. The fact that the neighbors had no idea the parcel of land was being rezoned is also a bit disheartening. City officials now claim there’s “nothing” they can do to stop the development.

In true civic fashion, however, the neighborhood is protesting – calling the new development a “blight.”

What’re your thoughts on the issue? Here’s the link to the full story.

 

  1. Stacey Reply
    My mind is torn on this one. I read the article on Europe and the diversity one finds within a city block. Is diversity that bad? When is change good? Does a neighborhood have to be all of one type? Does a neighborhood have the right to roadblock change that is not necessarily negative, just different from what they expected? I'm usually a strong one for preservation, so it comes as a shock to find myself on the fence on this one. Of course, I also think the time to challenge this move was before the victorian home was demolished. Now that it's gone, what do they hope to see there? Another victorian isn't realistic to expect.
    • Jim Reply
      All good questions. What bothers me most about this situation is that the developer and owner of the land seems to have mislead the neighborhood. Actually, that's not really even the worst part (it's crummy because it shows disregard). The worst part is that the neighborhood wasn't included or informed about any updating to the zoning code. This isn't to say that the neighbors should be able to dictate development in their area, but they should at least be given the chance to weigh in and have their words/thoughts count for something. After all, they've been investing in the neighborhood for a long time..
  2. Stacey Reply
    Maybe at the outset, the buyer intended to renovate the house and wasn't being dishonest. Who knows what they found once they got in there. Maybe structural damage that was going to cost more than the house was worth. At that point, the plans could have changed from restoration to demolition. But it is alot of conjecture, because we don't know for sure whether the plans were always to build an 8-plex or not. If they were dishonest, then yes, this becomes all kinds of messy. And it certainly isn't good rep for the hospital that this revolves around, dishonesty aside. I just feel like we're missing something critical here.