Historic Westport High transformed into apartment complex

2024-05-14 - BY ELEANOR NASH enash@kcstar.com

About 60 years after her acting debut at Westport High School, Joy Fisher returned to the school auditorium stage.

A member of the class of 1965, Fisher recited her lines from the play she once acted in, which had become a family joke: “Don’t worry, honey lamb, I’ll treat those judges right fine.”

Fisher, known as Gooch back then, was back at her alma mater Thursday for the open house of the The Residences at Park 39 Apartments, located in the transformed high school building.

“This has been very innovative construction. This is amazing what they’ve done here,” Fisher said.

Once the home of pep club and cheerleading tryouts, the auditorium now holds a twostory structure with meeting rooms and a pool table, with the building’s original plaster molding accented with lights.

The new 138-unit apartment complex, housed in the historic building at 39th and McGee, has studio, one bedroom and two bedroom apartments with rents ranging from $925 to $2499 pre-utilities. As of Thursday, the building was 45% leased and running a special of a free month of rent if residents move in before June.

Originally built in 1908, Westport High School educated Kansas City students until 2010. Famous alumni include Royals owner Ewing Kauffman and Looney Tunes animator Fritz Freleng. With capacity for 1,429 students, the building was sold to Sustainable Development Partners in 2016. Con

struction began in spring 2022 on the 181,000 square foot facility.

Most apartments have 12-foot windows underneath 16-foot ceilings. The renovation of the old building, created some unique spaces: a 221 square-foot studio, a game room hidden behind the auditorium curtains and a few two-story apartments in the former girls’ gym.

The units have 12-foot windows set into 16-foot ceilings, combined ovenmicrowave and washerdryer and a miniature dishwasher.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the building had to retain its historical character to qualify for federal and state tax credits.

Crews removed dropped ceilings, preserved historic wood and covered lead paint to make the building livable. While wide hallways designed for hundreds of students are not necessary in a residential building, they were preserved.

The floors tell the story of the school: painted concrete stairs worn down by generations of high schoolers and wood flooring changing the direction in the middle of an apartment, showing where one classroom ended and another began.

Westport High School is one of over 20 former school buildings sold by Kansas City Public Schools. Some have been turned into apartments — West Side Lofts and West Hill Apartments — or senior living communities — Blenheim School Apartments and Seven Oaks Estates. Others have taken on new lives as a tutoring center — W.E.B. DuBois Learning Center — and offices — The Offices at Park 39, formerly Plexpod.

Neighbors were initially concerned about the parking at the new Residences at Park 39, but there is one spot per unit in the parking lots, according to developer Chip Walsh. And the forthcoming streetcar on Main will connect the residents to the Plaza and downtown.

Sustainable Development

Partners has purchased 16 acres of property that it has dubbed Park 39. In addition to the former Westport Middle School, which was turned into offices, the company currently plans on building more apartments to the east of the high school and the north of the middle school.