Businesses want to see Prospect prosper, believe redevelopment is key
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - After a violent weekend at 57th and Prospect, business owners in the area are voicing their concerns about the negative perception people have of Prospect Avenue and their desire to change that.
“It’s very discouraging to hear so much violence occurs in the Prospect quarter,” said Donald Maxwell, who has been a staple in the Prospect community. “That’s the same reason we have chosen this area to redevelop.”
Maxwell, who is also president for the Prospect Business Association, has been working diligently over the years to help Prospect prosper. He’s been focusing on 18th Street all the way to E. 55th Street.
“We tried to turn it around and make it an oasis where we created jobs and created activity,” Maxwell said. “Making merchandise available to the community, making food available to the community. Just constantly working on areas in need. Working with churches, with community leaders to make it a more viable place to live.”
Maxwell has his hands on quite a few projects. He’s also the owner of the Linwood Shopping Center at E. 31st Street and Prospect Avenue, which he fixed up. He said he’s on a mission to keep redeveloping the area.
“If we don’t do that, it will just get worse,” he said.
He believes redevelopment is key to stopping violent activity and has seen firsthand that it has been working to “tame the community.”
“Where we built new facilities, we don’t seem to see any activity,” Maxwell said. “27th and Prospect, right now, is very little activity. 22nd and Prospect, where the day care center is, very little activity.”
Down the street at 45th and Prospect sits Tyson Brothers Construction, a business that’s been in the area for over 60 years.
“We need to change the mindset,” General Manager Forest Tyson said. “This is not a wasteland. Good people live here.”
Tyson said he agrees with Maxwell. He also believes Prospect can evolve from being a hotspot for crime with the right developments.
“We want to make it affordable. We want your mortgage to be less than your rent, so you can stay here in the community and work here,” Tyson said. “That’s the mindset we have and the only people that can do it is us.”
Tyson said that although he, like many others, has seen Prospect change drastically over the years, he’s hopeful that Prospect can be fixed if the community takes the right steps together.
“We have to stop thinking ‘I’ and ‘me’ and start thinking ‘us’ and ‘we,’” Tyson said.
Previous coverage:
Business owner at 57th & Prospect says violence started at nearby vacant lot
Kansas City man charged in connection with Sunday morning mass shooting
3 killed in Sunday mass shooting identified, another victim reported wounded
‘We have to do better’: Loved ones heartbroken, demand change after Sunday mass shooting
Victims, KCMO Mayor speak out following gun violence at 57th and Prospect
KD working to get charges filed for Sunday morning mass shooting
1 in custody after mass shooting in KCMO leaves 3 dead, others wounded
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