Save Valentine Group formed
In October of 2024, demolition of 23 homes/apartments/buildings began in the Valentine neighborhood of Kansas City between 33rd and 35th from Pennsylvania to Southwest Trafficway. The Kansas City Life Insurance Company had notified the neighborhood that it planned to demolish 23 properties between 33rd to 35th Street from Southwest Trafficway to Pennsylvania for redevelopment. The neighborhood responded that it has always opposed demolishing homes without a replacement plan. The neighborhood invited Kansas City Life to a meeting to discuss the demolitions and its plans for the future, but Kansas City Life declined to attend and said it did not have a plan for replacing the lost housing. Demolition of the homes began on Oct. 23, 2024.
Save Valentine was formed to draw attention to the demolitions and help provide community input into the future of the four blocks that have been destroyed. Get updates on the webpage or follow Save Valentine on Facebook.
Updates on the demolitions
Demolitions continue in the Valentine neighborhood between 33rd and 35th from Pennsylvania to Southwest Trafficway. The Valentine Neighborhood says 23 homes and other structures are being demolished without a plan for what will replace them. According to a recent historical survey of the area, all of these structures would have qualified for addition to the historic register. In October, Kansas City Life Insurance, which owns the homes, told the Kansas City Star that it was removing “vacant and non-viable buildings” from its property. Instead, they have been reduced to piles of rubble.
Update Nov. 6: Today barriers went up for 621 W. 33rd and 3401 Summit. 3427 Jefferson was demolished. Currently, 14 homes and apartments have come down. The Midtown KC Post is documenting the history of the homes and how they looked both before and after demolition.
Oct. 28: Valentine Held a Memorial Service for the 23 Homes Slated for Demolition
Residents of the Valentine Neighborhood held a memorial service on Monday, Oct. 28, at 5:30 p.m. for the 23 buildings being demolished in their neighborhood. The memorial expressed our disappointment that these nearly two dozen homes have been demolished, especially given Kansas City’s housing shortage. more
News coverage of the memorial service
Fox 4: Residents in the Valentine Neighborhood in Midtown Kansas City walked the sidewalks where some homes have already been torn down and they fear more could follow in the next few days. Valentine Neighborhood mourns demolitions, prepares for more
KMBC 9 News: Neighbors in Midtown are protesting Kansas City Life Insurance Company’s demolition of nearly two dozen homes, which they say is destroying the neighborhood. Midtown neighbors protest demolition of historic homes in Kansas City
KSHB 41: People living in Kansas City, Missouri’s Valentine Neighborhood held a memorial Monday night to honor the loss of homes in their neighborhood. Residents in Kansas City’s Valentine Neighborhood holds memorial for demolished homes
KCTV5: Some in Kansas CIty’s Valentine neighborhood ar concerned their community has no future. WOrk to demolish 23 homes is already underway. Valentine Neighborhood sees another 23 homes demolished, locals question what comes next
Kansas City Star, Oct. 30: Valentine residents are lamenting the “devastating” loss of more historic homes leaving vacant lots across the landscape of their Midtown neighborhood. It’s a fight that longtime neighbors have been waging on their blocks, spanning from Southwest Trafficway to Broadway Boulevard and 31st Street to 39th Street, for decades.
Read more at: https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article294736914.html#storylink=cpy