Undeveloped Redevelopment

I don't know whether to file this under excess capacity or under broken dreams. As I was contemplating the follow up to my April 25 post, I happened to wander through Columbus park on my way to Habitat Restore.

In the area running roughly from 5th to 2nd, Campbell to Troost is a large tract of empty land in an area that should have structures dating back to the earliest days of the city. There should be something resembling a grid here. There is not. At some point in the recent past the buildings were torn down and new streets laid out along the lines of a modern suburb. The image at left is a case in point. It shows an empty cul-du-sac where there should be through streets.

The next photo shows Harrison as it makes a bend onto 4th Street. Notice all the unused, aging pavement. Notice the once new sidewalks. I know that development companies sometimes go out of business. But records show that most of this land is owned by the Housing Authority of Kansas City. I did a little poking in the county real estate records to try to find how long the authority has owned this land. So numerous are the authority's real estate transactions that he effort proved to be like finding a needle in a haystack.

Mark Forsythe once wrote a well-reasoned blog entry calling for a "use it or loose it" land law. As attractive as that idea is to me, I think the discussion is moot in a state like Missouri. The bill would never make it out of committee. I wonder if there's a place for a use it or loose it law for government agencies like the housing authority. I don't know the pros and cons. I'm just asking the question. Given the state of infill in Columbus Park and the nearby City Market, I have to think that this land is an attractive development prospect for somebody.