The Brief
The Joplin City Council unanimously approved the demolition of the vacant former Freeman Hospital building to make way for affordable housing.
The housing development will primarily serve veterans and seniors through a partnership between the city, Economic Security Corporation, and Habitat for Humanity.
American Rescue Plan Act funding will finance the demolition, while HUD funding will support the construction of the affordable housing units.
JOPLIN, Mo. (KOAM) - After years of sitting vacant and deteriorating, the old Freeman Hospital building on South Sergeant Avenue in Joplin will soon be demolished to make way for affordable housing.
The Joplin City Council unanimously approved the removal of asbestos and demolition of the vacant building at their most recent meeting, marking a significant step toward revitalizing a prominent area of the city.
"It's been an issue for everyone. I mean, that's on the 20th Street corridor. It's so visible. People see that blight, and they've seen it for many years," said Troy Bolander, Director of Planning, Development and Neighborhood Services for the City of Joplin. "So now we have a great opportunity to get it down and put that space back in production, especially with affordable housing."
The former owners of the site, the Kraft family, donated the land to the Economic Security Corporation (ESC), a nonprofit organization that plans to develop affordable housing on the property. The development will primarily target veterans and seniors, addressing critical housing needs in the community.
Ryan Peterson, CEO of the Economic Security Corporation, emphasized the significance of the land donation. "As a nonprofit, you know, one of the hardest things to getting affordable housing is finding land at a reasonable cost to where we can do that. We were able to get that donation," Peterson said.
City officials note that the building was unlikely to ever be rehabilitated since it no longer qualified for preservation tax credits due to the numerous modifications made to the structure over the years.
The development represents a three-way partnership between the City of Joplin, the Economic Security Corporation, and Habitat for Humanity through its Joplin Economic Housing Development Initiative (JEHDI).
Scott Clayton, Executive Director for Habitat for Humanity, shared specific plans for the site. "We would like to build three two-story duplexes at the location. These would be rentals under JEHDI. We've built one at three level North Joplin here recently in partnership with Economic Security. We have a good relationship with them," Clayton explained.
Those three duplexes would offer 6 units in total.
The city will utilize American Rescue Plan Act funding for the demolition of the old building. According to Bolander, funding to build the affordable housing will come from a city program that receives financial support from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Bolander says the need for affordable housing is more apparent now than ever before. "With inflation, material costs, labor costs have all increased drastically. So it has priced some people in the market. So any time we can get more affordable housing and people into those homes, it's a good thing for Joplin," Bolander said.
The three partner organizations hope the project will help revitalize the Joplin area. Clayton emphasized their collaborative approach, noting they are "talking all the time about what we can do together to help improve the community."
City staff have not yet established a timeline for when the demolition process will begin but plan to start meeting with contractors soon.
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