Forty-thousand new residents, 15,000 new jobs and 17,000 new homes. All are optimistic benchmarks in a new vision to re-invest in Kansas City’s Prospect Avenue corridor after decades of policies and decisions that have led to population decline in the area.

Called ProspectUS, which was partly approved by the City Council in February, the plan calls for the city to encourage walkable, denser development that takes advantage of the Prospect MAX bus line, which stretches roughly nine miles from 12th Street near downtown, south to 75th Street. It’s the busiest bus line in KC.

In the works for years, the plan evokes how Prospect Avenue developed in the early 1900s, with abundant streetcar service, buzzing business hubs and various types of housing in the east side neighborhoods around it. But through the 20th century, highway construction carved through and divided neighborhoods east of Troost, scores of families fled the area, Black residents were shut out of homeownership, public services declined and a large amount of land was left vacant, according to a city analysis of the corridor’s history.

City officials say the plan is a “road map,” similar to other plans for neighborhoods around Kansas City, that outlines possible steps that could help improve the Prospect Avenue corridor in the years to come by filling in vacant lots and bringing in new housing and businesses.

It envisions “nodes” at major intersections with pedestrian-friendly streetscapes, mixed-use buildings with apartments and businesses near transit stops.

“I’m excited about what the future holds for the Prospect corridor, given this plan,” Mayor Pro Tem Ryana Parks-Shaw said in February. “It gives us something to collectively search for grants and other funding opportunities to be able to move this corridor to the next level, to reinvest in a community in a way that it has desperately needed for many years.”

ProspectUS is not a specific redevelopment plan, and the city would still need to approve any actual changes, funding or developments in the future.

The plan does not include taking away property from owners. It also calls for protecting current residents from being displaced and maintaining affordability.

Goals of Kansas City’s vision for Prospect Avenue

The ProspectUS plan outlines six goals for the future of the Prospect Avenue corridor:

• Protect the Prospect Avenue community: The plan emphasizes that redevelopment can raise costs for current residents and businesses, pushing them out. It says that investment along Prospect should not come at their expense but instead be for their benefit and create zero displacement. It outlines various strategies to prevent displacement with various services and financial assistance, reduce blight, prevent demolition and boost cultural resources, such as working with local groups to document and preserve local history.

• Jumpstart reinvestment through public subsidy: The plan says public investment will be necessary to support development along the corridor, including for affordable housing, supporting small businesses, creating space for businesses and improving infrastructure. That could include boosting housing assistance, reducing development costs and cutting red tape for developers and taking advantage of financial programs for investment. It calls for hiring a corridor manager to coordinate efforts along Prospect.

• Improve walkability and transit access: The plan emphasizes making the Prospect corridor accessible for pedestrians and cyclists, including with improved crossings, while enhancing open spaces.

• Increase business and neighborhood amenities to retain and attract population: That could include creating a youth entertainment district, a program to improve storefront facades, grants for small businesses, strengthening the local business association and improving security.

• Grow the population through mixed-income neighborhood development: The plan encourages the city to support affordable housing development along Prospect, including through low-income housing tax credits, the city’s housing trust fund and promoting development on vacant lots.

• Implement sustainable practices to promote community wellness and environmental health: That could include work to improve energy efficiency with development, seeking grants to help property owners fix environmental issues and emphasizing historic preservation.

Final Prospect plan follows neighborhood input

The ProspectUS plan includes over 20 neighborhoods from the south side to the historic northeast, and officials have staged dozens of events to gather feedback from neighborhood leaders and residents.

Planning stretches back to 2022, after the city received a $400,000 federal grant to study transit-oriented development. Neighborhood engagement has continued throughout the process.

Evie Craig, president of the Paseo West Neighborhood Association, said the plan is one that enhances the neighborhood without interfering with what the neighborhood might be doing and that building more attractive and safer walkways for pedestrians is exciting.

“There’s opportunity, particularly for new residents and families and children and [people with] mobility issues to have a safe pedestrian environment,” she said, adding that having an attractive and thoughtful pedestrian environment can enhance security and safety.

Forest Tyson, Jr., vice president of the Oak Park Neighborhood Association, said the plan is a “wish list,” but he’ll need to see the city put funding toward actual projects that will improve housing and business in the neighborhood, such as addressing vacant lots that the city owns.

“Put a house on it,” he said.

The second part of the Prospect plan, a zoning overlay that would encourage centralized “nodes” of denser, transit-focused development up and down Prospect, was passed through the city’s plan commission in early April. The City Council would need to approve the overlay at a later date.

The council has also required city staff to put together a one-year report with details about how to implement the Prospect plan with timelines and potential partnerships with other organizations to show concrete commitment to carrying it out.

Third District council member Melissa Robinson forwarded the idea for the implementation report for the Prospect plan, noting that sometimes plans are put “on a shelf” and not put in place.

The city’s 2026 budget for fiscal year 2025-26 includes funding for two economic development specialists who will work to implement the Prospect plan. Third District At-Large council member Melissa Patterson Hazley said she and Robinson have heard “over and over” that these kinds of ambitious plans never come with formal support, and the two new positions will help address that shortcoming.

City staff are currently working to post and fill the new positions.

This story was originally published April 29, 2025 at 6:00 AM.