Kansas City, MO - The North Kansas City School District has purchased side by side retail space, formerly a Hobby Lobby and Price Chopper, at N. 64th Street and Antioch in Gladstone, to consolidate their pre-K program.
Rochel Daniels, assistant superintendent of organizational development with the district says the renovation helps both the community and the district.
Daniels says the district is saving an estimated $17 million by using the former Prospect Plaza retail space rather than ground-up construction.
The 115,000 square foot space in Gladstone will be transformed into 41 classrooms expanding the program to serve more than 800 students.
"It's just a nice way to have a centralized location, and revitalize that area where we would have had vacant building spaces," explains Daniels.
They're working with DLR Group who previously renovated retail space into a pre-K facility in Kearney. Daniels says they're using that facility as an example. Daniels says they have established a collaborative committee of specialist, teachers, and parents that are helping DLR to formulate the final design.