Kansas City University is likely to get its way with Leonard Smith Hall, a 99-year-old building that many neighbors hoped would continue to anchor the western gateway to the historic Northeast.
The City Plan Commission voted Wednesday to deny the historic overlay designation that was Smith Hall’s last real shot at survival, clearing the way for KCU to demolish the 1927 brick nurses’ residence and replace it with a biomedical research facility.
In rejecting the historic designation, the City Plan Commission overrode recommendations from both the Historic Preservation Commission and city staff, who had supported landmark status for Smith Hall. The City Council still has the final say and could theoretically override the CPC in favor of the preservationists, but I don’t like those odds. Smith Hall is almost surely a goner…