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Independence, MO —
Although the central portion of the former Anderson Alternative School was heavily damaged by fire April 22, it’ll remain standing for at least another month.
The Independence Heritage Commission Tuesday night voted to continue a private developer’s application for a certificate of economic hardship, which would’ve allowed for the demolition of the former school at 9701 E. 35th St. South to make way for affordable senior apartments.
Commission members voted 5-1, with Cody Fann opposed, to continue the case until Nov. 6 to allow the developer, Gary Hassenflu with Garrison Companies, to provide more information on the vacant structure.
The Commission approves such a certificate for an exterior alteration, new construction, relocation or demolition of property when a certificate of appropriateness was previously denied. A couple of months ago, commission members did deny a certificate of appropriateness, which asks for proposed work to take place in a historic district or site.
Several members said they would like to see a report on the structure from a Missouri-licensed engineer who has seen the property in person. The report provided by the developer came from an out-of-state engineer, and commissioners questioned whether the engineer had even visited the property.
The commission also would like more information on the structural condition of the central portion of the school (constructed in 1927) compared to the two outer wings, which were added in the 1940s and 1950s.
“I don’t know that we have a complete assessment of the building in front of us,” commission chairman Mike Calvert said.
Commission member Sam Rushay requested more evidence that the developer made an effort to apply for federal and state tax credits, as well as historic rehabilitation tax credits.
Hassenflu said he did recently submit an application for low-income housing tax credits from the Missouri Housing Development Commission. That application is under review, but commission members asked for more information on its status to be provided at the next meeting.
Without complete demolition of the structure, Hassenflu said, he fears the project might not receive approval for the low-income tax credits.
“The best chance for our development to move forward this year is to grant our request for the economic hardship,” Hassenflu said. “Otherwise, I do fear that if MHDC gets wind of that there is still uncertainty as to whether or not this will be (demolished), then they certainly won’t approve (the tax credits).”
Although the central portion of the former Anderson Alternative School was heavily damaged by fire April 22, it’ll remain standing for at least another month.
The Independence Heritage Commission Tuesday night voted to continue a private developer’s application for a certificate of economic hardship, which would’ve allowed for the demolition of the former school at 9701 E. 35th St. South to make way for affordable senior apartments.
Commission members voted 5-1, with Cody Fann opposed, to continue the case until Nov. 6 to allow the developer, Gary Hassenflu with Garrison Companies, to provide more information on the vacant structure.
The Commission approves such a certificate for an exterior alteration, new construction, relocation or demolition of property when a certificate of appropriateness was previously denied. A couple of months ago, commission members did deny a certificate of appropriateness, which asks for proposed work to take place in a historic district or site.
Several members said they would like to see a report on the structure from a Missouri-licensed engineer who has seen the property in person. The report provided by the developer came from an out-of-state engineer, and commissioners questioned whether the engineer had even visited the property.
The commission also would like more information on the structural condition of the central portion of the school (constructed in 1927) compared to the two outer wings, which were added in the 1940s and 1950s.
“I don’t know that we have a complete assessment of the building in front of us,” commission chairman Mike Calvert said.
Commission member Sam Rushay requested more evidence that the developer made an effort to apply for federal and state tax credits, as well as historic rehabilitation tax credits.
Hassenflu said he did recently submit an application for low-income housing tax credits from the Missouri Housing Development Commission. That application is under review, but commission members asked for more information on its status to be provided at the next meeting.
Without complete demolition of the structure, Hassenflu said, he fears the project might not receive approval for the low-income tax credits.
“The best chance for our development to move forward this year is to grant our request for the economic hardship,” Hassenflu said. “Otherwise, I do fear that if MHDC gets wind of that there is still uncertainty as to whether or not this will be (demolished), then they certainly won’t approve (the tax credits).”
The developer purchased the property in mid-2011 and underwent a months-long approval process with the Planning Commission and the City Council in 2010 to allow for the development of low-income senior apartments. Even if the April fire had not occurred, the case still would have come before the Heritage Commission for approval of demolition.
Jim Haynes, the city’s dangerous building hearing official, said the entire structure meets the city’s criteria for a dangerous building.
“Our heartburn, I suppose, in the dangerous building arena is that’s, in our opinion, structurally unstable,” Haynes said. “We’d like to see that dealt with somehow.”
