Former Parade Park resident thinks about life after foreclosure, moving

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Since the foreclosure sale of Parade Park Homes in March, many residents have moved out as developers continue the three-phase redevelopment process.

At the end of September, the city council of Kansas City, Missouri approved a $300 million redevelopment plan for 1,084 units as a partnership between Flaherty & Collins Properties and Twelfth Street Heritage Development Corporation.

signed on parade park.jpeg — Banner at the entrance to Parade Park Homes on Sunday October 27.

Rachel Henderson of KSHB 41 spoke to former resident Lynn Williams in March when the city purchased Parade Park from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“It was a community, I tell you. A very good community. And then you get DAWG doors,” Williams laughed.

She has since moved to The Residences at Park 39 in Westport, but she said the journey there wasn’t the easiest.

Henderson spoke with Williams at her sister/former neighbor’s new apartment, just down the street from Parade Park.

lynn williams.jpeg — Lynn Williams, former Parade Park resident

“It was almost depressing at times because you really knew you had to go, but you didn’t know where you were going,” Williams said.

Williams said many problems stemmed from residents taking more time to leave their apartments than initially allowed.

Other bumps in the relocation process included some homes not knowing how to use HUD-authorized tenant protection vouchers and residents being directed to “unsuitable” homes, Williams said.

Williams was part of Phase 1 of the plan.

map of paradepark.png — All three phases of the Parade Park redevelopment plan.

“I hope phases 2 and 3 are better,” she said.

At one point, Williams wrote a letter asking for more time after the Oct. 7 deadline. Williams said she moved on Oct. 10.

uhaul on paradepark.jpeg — U-Haul truck outside a unit in Parade Park on Sunday, October 27.

On October 27, residents were still leaving their units in Parade Park.

“Most of Parade Park is seniors,” Williams said. “And I’m talking about the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s.”

She said that age range means some people may not go back or live once development is complete in a few years.

The current planning includes 80 homes for seniors and 200 homes for low incomes.

Williams said she is unsure if she will return now that she has moved, despite former residents being given the first right of refusal once the new units are built.

lynn points to old apartment.jpeg — Lynn Williams points out her former unit at Parade Park Homes on Sunday, October 27.

“Packing and unpacking is hard,” Williams said. “And the older you get, it gets worse.”

But what about Parade Park’s legacy?

“I don’t care what they build there,” Williams said. “Parade Park is dead as far as I’m concerned.”

With only a few cars left in the driveway, broken siding and boarded-up windows, Williams described the current condition as “creepy.”

broken siding at parade park.jpeg — Broken siding on a unit at Parade Park Homes on October 27.

And because the exterior of the building is almost unrecognizable to Williams, she believes the name should be changed as well.

boarded up windows on pp.jpeg — Windows boarded up in Parade Park on October 27.

“This whole community that we had is all over Kansas City or out of state and all that,” Williams said. “So we lost family, we lost friends.”

Williams doesn’t blame developers for the state of the once-historic Black co-op. Instead she quoted tensions between the board of the former cooperative as the core problem.

“It was within reach,” Williams said. “Nobody took it away from us.”

She said she has always been in favor of redevelopment, but she knows the history of the area she once recognized is slowly fading.

“That area there, 18th and Vine, it will no longer be a black community,” she said. “It’ll be just like Westport, it’ll be just like Crossroads.”

Despite the hardships, Williams explained the lesson she learned from her experience.

“Watch your boards, watch your co-ops, watch your homeowners associations, watch your neighborhood associations,” she said.

When it comes to preserving history, Williams believes in the power of oral storytelling. She is also an advocate of participating in history rather than watching.

“I don’t want to come down when the project is done; I want to look at the project and see it,” Williams said. “Stick to the point. Be part of it. Never give up. Never throw in your towel.”

—

KSHB 41 reporter Rachel Henderson covers neighborhoods in Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties. Share your story idea with Rachel.