Historic places face threats every day. Those threats vastly exceed Historic Kansas City’s resources, which is why Historic Kansas City works with historic neighborhoods who take the lead and seek our help to preserve the history and character that is important to them. Saving a historic structure takes months to build a coalition, work with city planning and gain the support of councilmembers.

 

HISTORIC DESIGNATION NOMINATION

HISTORIC KANSAS CITY supports the Valentine Neighborhood Association, which has applied for the local designation for a new district called the Norman School Historic District. The District encompasses three blocks bounded by 35th Street to Valentine Road and the west side of Pennsylvania to the east side of Summit Street (Southwest Trafficway).

The district includes 60 contributing resources constructed between 1902 and 1929. (The larger Valentine Neighborhood extended from 33rd Street to W. 40th Street between Broadway and Southwest Trafficway).

See Valentine Neighborhood website HERE.

BACKGROUND

Kansas City Life owns at least 18 properties in the proposed historic district, including the two sixplexes it proposes tearing down for the Colonnade Court. The company raised that concept during a Historic Preservation Commission meeting in February. Officials put a 45-day hold on issuing demolition permits under new city procedures for potentially historic structures. That hold was set to end April 14, before the historic district triggered another pause.

The Norman School Historic District would be south of blocks where Kansas City Life started tearing down 23 unoccupied homes in the fall. The insurance company bought the properties near its 3520 Broadway headquarters decades ago. Many of the residences subsequently sat and deteriorated. Kansas City Life said structural and design issues made them impossible to repurpose and pledged to eventually redevelop the lots.

But pushback from the Valentine Neighborhood Association has stemmed, in part, because residents believe Kansas City Life was demolishing the homes without any known plan or timeline for developing the vacant properties. The company has drawn up project concepts but not yet submitted any plans to the city.

Learn more about why Valentine has pushed back against Kansas City Life at SAVE VALENTINE.

 

SUPPORT THE VALENTINE NEIGHBORHOOD – PUBLIC HEARING

The CH-PRES-2025-00002 application to designate the Norman School Historic District will be heard by the Historic Preservation Commission on FRIDAY, June 27th, at 9 am at City Hall. The hearing will be held on the 10th Floor of City Hall and remotely by video conference. Citizens wishing to participate virtually should do so through the video conference platform Zoom, using the link provided by the Historic Preservation Commission.

This is the first of a three-part public hearing process. Only if the Historic Preservation Commission affirms the application by 5 votes will the case advance to the City Plan Commission.

View the application and more at CompassKC HERE.

 

TAKE ACTION:

Support the historic designation of the Norman School Historic District by submitting a letter or email of support to the Historic Preservation Commission ahead of their meeting on the morning of Friday, June 27th. Additional levels of approval needed for establishing the new local historic district will require consistent advocacy from neighborhood stakeholders and all those supporting preservation of the significant homes and multi-family buildings of the District.

See the template below for your use.

Date

Historic Preservation Commission
Kansas City, Missouri City Hall
414 East 12th Street, 16th Floor
Kansas City, MO 64106

kchp@kcmo.org

 

Case CH-PRES-2025-00002 – Norman School Historic District

To Members of the Historic Preservation Commission:

The [NAME OF GROUP] supports the timely listing of the Norman School Historic District in the Kansas City Register of Historic Places.

The property within the Norman School Historic District boundaries tells a unique and important story, defines the development history of the community, and provides tangible reminders of the past that create a unique sense of place.

Built between 1902 and 1924, the Norman School Historic District is locally significant under Criterion C in the area of ARCHITECTURE. The District’s residential resources were designed and developed by a variety of individual entrepreneurs and realty companies, following earlier association with the McGee family landholdings and Interstate Fairgrounds. The District is named for its sole non-residential resource, the Norman School, a visually prominent Progressive-Era school of native limestone.

The Kansas City Shirtwaist style predominates among the District’s contributing buildings, accounting for 27 residential homes consistent with material, massing, and stylistic elements characteristic of the style within the District. Also present are a cluster of Prairie Style homes built from 1919-1923. Eight contributing, purpose-built multi-family residential resources remain in the District. All are consistent with the registration requirements listed in the Colonnaded Apartments MPDF  to be listed under Criterion C as contributing resources to a district. They exhibit a variety of the sub-types described in the MPDF, with only one example of a design repeated across multiple resources.

The [NAME OF GROUP] recommends that the Commission vote to APPROVE Case CH-PRES-2025-00002 – Norman School Historic District for listing on the Kansas City Register of Historic Places.

Sincerely,

Name
Address
Phone
Email

Cc:
Valentine Neighborhood Association, valentineneighborhood@gmail.com
Brad Wolf, bradley.wolf@kcmo.org
Lisa Briscoe, lbriscoe@historickansascity.org

 

NORMAN SCHOOL HISTORIC DISTRICT

Built between 1902 and 1924, the Norman School Historic District is locally significant under Criterion C in the area of ARCHITECTURE. The District’s residential resources were designed and developed by a variety of individual entrepreneurs and realty companies, following earlier association with the McGee family landholdings and Interstate Fairgrounds. The District is named for its sole non-residential resource, the Norman School, a visually prominent Progressive-Era school of native limestone. The Kansas City Shirtwaist style predominates among the District’s contributing buildings, accounting for 27 residential homes consistent with material, massing, and stylistic elements characteristic of the style within the District. Also present are a cluster of Prairie Style homes built from 1919-1923. Eight contributing, purpose-built multi-family residential resources remain in the District. All are consistent with the registration requirements listed in the Colonnaded Apartments MPDF  to be listed under Criterion C as contributing resources to a district. They exhibit a variety of the sub-types described in the MPDF, with only one example of a design repeated across multiple resources.

Sources

  1. Valentine Neighborhood Application to the Kansas City Register of Historic Places

TRIGGERS TEMPORARY HOLD ON DEMOLITION 

Once an application has been filed, no building permit for alteration, construction, demolition, or removal of a property being considered for designation under an application for an HO district may be issued until the historic preservation commission has dismissed or denied the application for designation, or until the city council has denied designation in accordance with the procedures established in 88-580-01-C. and 88-580- 01-E., though no stay on the issuance of a permit may be for more than six months from the filing of the application. Some exemptions can apply.

 

HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION CRITERION

  1. The historic preservation commission must hold at least one public hearing on the designation of historic districts. Following the close of the hearing, the historic preservation commission must act to recommend that the proposed designation be approved, approved with modifications, continued for further deliberation, forwarded to the city plan commission with no recommendation, or denied. Five affirmative votes are required to recommend approval or approval with modifications. A majority of those present is required to continue for further deliberation, forward to the city plan commission with no recommendation, or deny the application.

  2. The historic preservation commission may grant a rehearing if the rehearing request includes new evidence to be presented that was not available at the time of the original hearing. The request for a rehearing must be made within 30 days of the date of the historic preservation commission’s original action. No more than one rehearing is permitted.

  3. The findings of the historic preservation commission, must be forwarded to the city plan commission and city council for review.

  4. In reviewing and making decisions on proposed historic landmark and historic district designations, the historic preservation commission must consider at least the following factors: a.  the criteria used in determining eligibility for listing on the U.S. Department of Interior’s National Register of Historic Places, including the historic, cultural, aesthetic, or architectural significance of the building, structure, site, object, or district; and b.  conformance with the city’s adopted plans and planning policies; c.  the economic impact of the designation on the subject property and the surrounding area.