Project Overview

The Benton Boulevard Corridor Redevelopment Project is within the historic Santa Fe Place National Register Historic District. The Santa Fe Place Historic District is an urban, residential neighborhood which consists of over 800 properties on 160 acres in northeast Kansas City, MO. Originally developed as a prestigious and exclusive community, the neighborhood has been adapted over the years to the demands for more housing, including the construction of several apartment buildings lining the main boulevard. The Santa Fe Place Neighborhood is the first major residential area in Kansas City where middle and upper class Black families came to live.

In partnership with STRATA Architecture, the following was accomplished: Section 106 Review, including working with the Missouri SHPO for approval of redevelopment work and National Register updating, and finalization and initiation of a new Memorandum of Agreement; update to the National Register of Historic Places Nomination, which required a historic resource survey, including documenting and mapping the 800 plus properties within the neighborhood to update the original Santa Fe Place Historic District National Register Nomination; and developing Design Guidelines for the Santa Fe Place Historic District redevelopment, addressing both rehabilitation and new infill construction, which received approval by both the local Landmarks Commission and the Missouri SHPO. In addition, a property disposition and reutilization strategy for approximately 20 former HUD multifamily properties was created, which also had to meet Landmarks Commission and Missouri SHPO approval.