Continued investment in Kansas City’s Historic Northeast Neighborhood by Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences (KCU) helped lay the groundwork for a recent $30-million grant awarded by HUD Choice Neighborhoods to transform the area’s Paseo Gateway district. In particular, the University’s purchase and demolition of the nearby Capri Motel earlier this year served as a springboard for garnering support from HUD to invest in further improvements around the intersections of Independence Avenue and The Paseo.
Awarded to the Housing Authority of Kansas City, Mo., and the City of Kansas City, Mo., the federal grant supports a comprehensive plan to revitalize the Northeast community during the next five years. The plan includes rebuilding public housing and improving local education, business development and social services.
“This grant is a huge win for our community, Kansas City and KCU,” said Marc B. Hahn, DO, president and CEO of KCU. “Nowhere is our mission to improve the well-being of the communities we serve more important than in Kansas City’s Northeast — the neighborhood we’ve been proud to call home for 99 years. KCU was pleased to be a part of the grant process and to host HUD’s evaluation team earlier this year. We look forward to continued work with local civic, business and government organizations to leverage this positive momentum for returning the Paseo Gateway to its original splendor.”
Other investments by KCU to revitalize the neighborhood include:
A $60-million Campus Master Plan currently underway to upgrade facilities and create a state-of-the-art medical and health sciences campus.
- Approval by Kansas City voters to transfer land adjacent to KCU's campus along Highland Avenue to the University for future development.
- A $60-million Campus Master Plan currently underway to upgrade facilities and create a state-of-the-art medical and health sciences campus.
- Ongoing operation of KCU’s Community Garden by faculty, staff and students, which provides thousands of pounds of fresh produce annually to the Della Lamb food pantry and other community agencies in Kansas City’s Historic Northeast.
- Score 1 For Health, through which first- and second-year osteopathic medical students provide free health screenings to more than 13,000 underserved elementary-aged children in 50 schools in Kansas City’s urban core annually. Through Score 1’s “Eat Smart Champs,” families in the Northeast community also receive 1:1 coaching to help educate them about healthier lifestyle choices.
- The University’s annual WE CARE Days of community service for incoming students, which this year provided more than 1,300 hours of volunteer service benefitting 15 organizations throughout Kansas City’s Northeast.
- KCU’s Fit Doctors Association student club, which works with neighborhood elementary schools to form after-school running clubs that encourage exercise and get children involved in the local Cliff Hanger Run.
Four other cities also were awarded grants, including Atlanta, Milwaukee, Memphis and Sacramento. For more information on the HUD Choice Neighborhoods Grant, visit http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD.
