Penn Valley Redevelopment Project

The Penn Valley Redevelopment Project was a 1971 plan to demolish homes in Kansas City’s Valentine Neighborhood and to replace them with a multimillion-dollar office and residential complex.

This corporation was organized by the Kansas City Life Insurance Company and other members of the Broadway Area (Business) Association.

In a May 16, 1972 speech to employees of Kansas City Life, Administrative Vice President Walter E. Bixby, Jr. reflected on why they pursued the plan: One of the prime factors involved is the fact that many of the structures in the neighborhood were built in 1910 – some even before that.

So in the mid-1960s, the Company determined that no one else was going to do anything in the area and decided it was our responsibility, not only to the community but for our own benefit as well, that we try to maintain a neighborhood with a pleasant atmosphere and environment.

The reason was quite simple: We had no immediate plans but did want to try to either maintain the property or remove badly deteriorated housing.Bixby also mentioned that he believed the creation of Penn Valley Community College in 1969 foreshadowed that the area would become more commercial.

On September 7, 1972, a lawsuit was filed by Cigas and six others alleging that Kansas City Life perpetrated a scheme of buying property and allowing them to deteriorate and then demolishing them leaving vacant spaces throughout the area.

The suit further charged that Kansas City Life falsely stated that the Valentine neighborhood was a blighted, unsanitary, crime-ridden, deteriorated area and as a result, homeowners were unable to use their property as security for mortgage loans.

The court cited precedence that the “defendant had the absolute right to the reasonable use of its own property” and that no evidence was presented that Kansas City Life encouraged abuse by tenants.

Both the Panhandle Eastern Building (later bought by MGE) and the Broadway-Valentine Shopping Center (now called the Uptown Shoppes) began redevelopment projects in 2019 to convert them to mixed-use residential and small retail.

We are laying the groundwork to eventually redevelop this property in a manner that meets the needs of our city.” Residents of the area point out that most of the structures had renters until a few months prior to the demolition.