After four years of planning - and just in time for National Homeownership Month - Kansas City, Missouri has launched its ambitious Beacon Hill redevelopment project. The master plan for this grand old neighborhood, just east of downtown Kansas City, calls for more than 400 units of new and rehabilitated housing as part of a $70 million dollar public-private development.

Beacon Hill is the largest single-family residential redevelopment project ever undertaken in Kansas City, and has been called one of the largest urban residential projects in the nation.

The Kansas City skyline, seen from available single-family lots in Beacon Hill.

When completed, the new Beacon Hill will be transformed from a financially distressed and abandoned neighborhood into a thriving, mixed-use residential community. In addition to new open spaces, terraces and streetscape improvements, decorative lighting, fountains and a community center, the development will include an adaptive re-use of an old blighted hospital and homes that feature front porches and rear alley access to garages. The homes will sell in the $100,000 to $250,000 price range.

Two Beacon Hill homes that will be rehabilitated.

The rebirth now underway will bring back the old charm and vitality to a neighborhood where Victorian-style homes had lost their grandeur and scores of residents had moved out. The new Beacon Hill neighborhood will provide homeownership opportunities for individuals and families with a variety of incomes. It will attract residents who are eager to move back to Kansas City, and also those who want to live in an attractive, thriving downtown neighborhood.

On May 29th, Beacon Hill residents joined with community leaders, including Senator Kit Bond, Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes, and Fannie Mae and HUD staff, to unveil the neighborhood's design. The development will look like what most people recognize as a traditional neighborhood design - known today as "new urbanism." Region VII Regional Director, Macie Houston (above), recognized June as National Homeownership Month at the celebration and talked about the homeownership opportunities this urban community would offer to residents of all races and income levels.

Initial development funding for this public-private project includes $10 million from Fannie Mae; a HUD Section 108 loan in the amount of $10 million; a $1.25 million HUD Brownfield Economic Development Initiative grant; $2.5 million from the Public Improvement Advisory Council, and $6.9 million from Housing Economic Development and Financial Corporation and other City of Kansas City sources. The developer is Beacon Hill Developers, LC (a joint venture of J.E. Dunn Construction, Taliaferro & Browne and The Zimmer Companies). Other partners include Beacon Hill-McFeders Neighborhood Association, Master Plan Architect Seidel/Holzman, Urban/Landscape Design HNTB, Market Analysis Development Strategies, American Community Foundation, Home Builders Association, Don Kelly Contracting, and Woodstone Homes.

Where ever you live, if you want to learn more about how to own your own home, visit HUD's National Homeownership Month page. You can get valuable information in English or Spanish - and begin to live your own American Dream!