Demolition of contaminated student housing ready to begin at University of Missouri-Kansas City

The University of Missouri-Kansas City is beginning demolition of student housing shut down two years ago because of unsafe conditions.

KSHB-TV reports that crews crews are now in the pre-demolition phase for Oak Place apartment buildings.

By the end of July, the Oak Place apartment buildings on campus should be demolished.

The apartments were opened only 12 years ago, but were found to be uninhabitable in 2018 after broken water pipes and mold were discovered inside.

“It is disappointing, it’s been disappointing for us,” says Bob Simmons, UMKC’s associate vice chancellor for administration. “The impact it’s had on our students and our retail tenants we had within the building...It’s certainly not what any of us envisioned 10 or 12 years ago when we opened up this facility.”

[EARLIER: University of Missouri-Kansas City will tear down problem-plagued student housing]

UMKC is seeking an insurance claim to pay for the demolition and some other costs associated with the property. It also has a lawsuit pending against several of the companies involved in building the apartments.

Simmons says the university is studying what to do with the property moving forward. Options include building more student housing. UMKC had previously announced intentions to create more on-campus housing.

“We’ll be looking at the best use for this site," says Simmons. "We do feel additional student campus housing has always been important to us, that it’s affordable, that it meets our students’ needs, but also having mixed-use developments that meet the needs of our community."

Kansas City has plans to extend its streetcar line to will expand to the area by 2024 or 2025, so there is an opportunity to link the streetcar to campus, which is one block away from the apartment site.