Chef/owners Neba Ngwa and Stella Musongong have offered authentic West African cuisine through popular pop-up restaurants in the Public Market. Those flavors will be available more frequently when African Dream Cuisine takes over the Red Kitchen space later this fall. Photo credit: Paul Versluis of Johnson County Lifestyle.
Emmet Pierson, Jr., chief executive officer of Community Builders of Kansas City (CBKC), announced this week that the organization has received an $800,000 grant from the Office of Community Services (OCS) to serve job retention and creation for Blue Parkway Sun Fresh.
CBKC became the owner / operator of the grocery store - one of the few full-service supermarkets east of Prospect Avenue - in June of this year.
U.S. Senator Roy Blunt and U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II were instrumental in supporting CBKC’s application for the OCS grant. Rep. Cleaver participated in a ceremonial check presentation at an outdoor concert of Kansas City Symphony musicians hosted by CBKC last weekend.
“At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic is causing organizations to shed jobs by the thousands, CBKC has an opportunity to not only keep and add jobs but do so in a critically underserved community. The fact that this allows us to grow a grocery asset in what otherwise would be another urban food desert is especially gratifying,” Pierson said.
Blue Parkway Sun Fresh currently has more than 60 employees, the majority of whom live in the same or adjacent zip codes.
This OCS grant followed a $500,000 city of Kansas City, Mo. grant received from the office of Neighborhoods & Housing Services. The city’s grant, part of monies funded to combat local effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, will enable CBKC to add online grocery ordering and pick-up services at Blue Parkway Sun Fresh.
“Blue Parkway Sun Fresh already has a great leadership team with John King as store manager and others like Michelle Mitchell of the Stapleton family, whose grandfather Leon Stapleton owned what is thought to have been the oldest black-owned grocery store in the country until it closed in 2019. We are developing the most modern of supermarkets with the warmest, most old-school customer service, Pierson said.
Unrelated to the grocery, another recently received COVID-19 grant from Neighborhoods & Housing Services for $592,000 will enable CBKC, in partnership with the Hispanic Economic Development Corporation (HEDC), to expand services at the Blue Hills Executive Center. Pierson said HEDC will provide technical assistance at the Center, housed in the CBKC-owned 5008 Prospect building, to minority and women entrepreneurs as they look to reposition or start a business in the COVID and post-COVID era.
“We are pleased to see the growth in national attention and funding coming to CBKC projects. With the $100,000 JPMorgan Chase grant last year and this most recent OCS grant, we hope it is just the tip of the iceberg of new, national equity finding value in what CBKC is working to accomplish for Kansas City’s black and brown communities,” Pierson said.
Community Builders of Kansas City (CBKC), the area’s largest urban core developer, announced today it will become the owner/operator of the Sun Fresh on Blue Parkway, one of the few full-service supermarkets east of Prospect Ave.
The transaction will be effective June 30, 2020, following the retirement of the current operator. CBKC, a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation formed in 1991, established Blue Parkway Grocers, LLC, as a for-profit entity to operate the store. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“This is another opportunity for CBKC to do what is right for our community in the urban core,” said Emmet Pierson, Jr., president and CEO of CBKC.
“Make no mistake, this is a big commitment for the organization but it is the right one to keep our community’s money in the community, to give them a best-in-class grocery and shopping experience and to ensure the continued performance of this grocery-anchored retail center that CBKC established here on Blue Parkway in 2005.”
The retail center, at more than 90 percent leased, is part of a larger real estate and asset management portfolio owned by CBKC that consists of 700 units of rental residential properties and 200,000 SF of commercial and retail space. The center is adjacent to a 69,000-SF office building where CBKC is headquartered, which is 100 percent leased.
CBKC is building a 64-unit, market rate apartment building, The Rochester on Blue Parkway, on the campus, part of more than $30 million in new development in the organization’s project pipeline.
Pierson noted that the Sun Fresh on Blue Parkway is more than just a real estate asset. The grocery store is about personal needs and experience, for both employees and customers. Addressing those starts with store leadership.
“We are pleased to welcome John King as the store director. King has had a long career as a grocery industry professional, including nearly twenty years as a Price Chopper/Hen House store director. We are excited to have his passion for quality in both the food product and customer experience as part of this store’s refresh,” Pierson said.
As is routine with similar operator transitions, all of the store’s employees will reapply for positions with eligibility subject to the usual hiring requirements. Downsizing of staff is not anticipated.
“We are excited and challenged by this new venture. While we never expected CBKC would become a grocery operator, we have found that doing what is needed for our community frequently exceeds expectations.” Pierson said.
Community Builders of Kansas City (CBKC), the area’s largest urban core developer, recently announced plans for a $12.6 million multifamily development east of Prospect Ave. in Kansas City, Mo.
The Rochester on Blue Parkway is one of the first projects announced in a Kansas City-area Opportunity Zone. The 81,400 SF, four-story complex will house 64 residential units.
“The Rochester brings a residential option to this corridor that does not now exist,” said Emmet Pierson, Jr., president and CEO of CBKC.
“The Rochester adds another dynamic element to CBKC’s Blue Parkway campus that already includes more than 430,000 SF of diversified office, retail and service providers. This residential development marks the first of a number of projects CBKC has planned along the Blue Parkway corridor and throughout the east side,” Pierson, Jr. said.
CBKC announced last year that its 69,000 SF office building at 4001 Blue Parkway was 100 percent occupied. With tenants such as Legal Aid and the Mid-America Assistance Coalition, the three-story property has become a convenient services resource for the community.
“CBKC is changing the landscape of Kansas City’s east side with meaningful projects that matter to the community,” said former Missouri Sen. Shalonn “Kiki” Curls.
“CBKC has proven it gets quality projects in challenging geographies done. We are excited to see this asset added to our community and know we can expect news of other development to come," Curls said.
The Rochester on Blue Parkway will feature in-demand finishes and amenities including stainless steel appliances, solid-surface countertops, in-unit washer and dryer, an indoor/outdoor rooftop deck, fitness center, package pick-up room, community meeting space as well as landscaped front and back yard spaces furnished for grilling and gathering around the fire pit.
Rates will be in the range of $985 to $1,275 for the one-bedroom/one bath, one-bedroom plus den/one bath and two-bedroom/two-bathroom units. There also will be a penthouse two-bedroom executive suite.
Founded in 1991, CBKC is responsible for revitalizing the Blue Parkway area by developing commercial projects such as The 4001 Blue Parkway Office Building and the Swope Health Services Campus and residential projects like Mt. Cleveland Heights and Townhomes. The effort brought affordable housing, retail development, commercial offices and countless social services to a formerly blighted area.
The property was named after R. (Rochester) Charles (Chuck) Gatson, the visionary founder of CBKC who grew up east of Troost and invested his career in service to the education, training and capacity building of individuals and communities in need. Gatson received numerous leadership recognitions including the James A. Johnson Fellowship from the Fannie Mae Foundation, awarded to leaders in affordable housing and community development.
“Straub Construction is appreciative to partner with CBKC in the project to honor a long-time visionary and client, Chuck Gatson. His significant impact on the community continues today,” said Parker Young, president of Straub Construction, the project’s general contractor.
CBKC currently has more than $80 million in real estate assets, from downtown to 63rd Street, under management.
Other project partners include project designer Hufft, Artin LLC, Custom Engineering, FSC,Inc., Land3 Studio and Taliaferro & Browne. CBKC is working with several partners to finalize the project’s capital funding.
Construction is expected to begin in Q4 2020 with an anticipated completion date of approximately one year later.
