KANSAS CITY, Kan. – As residents wait for an update on the paused Healthy Campus initiative in downtown Kansas City, Kan., residents further west continue to move forward.
In February, the Unified Government Board of Commissioners put the $37 million project on hold for 90 days as they tried to secure a committed grocer.
It's a huge project that would bring in retail, apartments - and most importantly - a grocery store and brand-new YMCA to downtown KCK.
A grocer has not committed yet, while the YMCA is waiting in the wings with $11 million.
In Argentine, smaller scale projects have advanced.
In the last few years, a Walmart Neighborhood Market and Save-A-Lot moved in on Metropolitan Avenue off 18th Street Expressway.
The Joe E. Amayo Argentine Community Center is thriving thanks to new work out equipment.
"It was super old school," said Cesar Sanchez, who uses and works at the center's new gym.
Third district commissioner Ann Murguia, who represents Argentine, said the previous free-weights gym at the center had broken glass and uneven lighting.
The restrooms were boarded up, and much of the area was wasted space.
Seven months ago that changed when the workout room was fitted with new equipment. The previous freeweights room is now a second workout studio. The restrooms were redone.
"It's really a great opportunity for one of the most low-income neighborhoods in Kansas for people who live here to have access to something like this," Murguia said.
The Unified Government paid $350,000 for the upgrades. The Argentine Neighborhood Development Association, which Murguia is the executive director for, raised $250,000. Another $250,000 in fundraising will help expand the center's conference room and install a kitchen for cooking classes.
"What we have here is just one example of a possibility that's affordable for the government," Murguia said.
Could a small approach mentality work in downtown KCK with the Healthy Campus?
Commissioners didn't discuss the topic at their May 3 meeting, but a Unified Government spokesperson said an update is coming in the next week.
The downtown project is more than $1 million over budget. In November, the commission voted to use $2 million to buy land at 10th & Minnesota for the first phase.
Newly-elected Mayor David Alvey said in meetings he wanted to make sure they're taking the project one step at a time.
In Argentine, the new rec center has brought new faces.
"We have about 900 members. The previous year we had about 150, so that was a big jump," Sanchez said.
It's an accomplishment many hope the commission can replicate throughout the county.
