Kansas City Public Schools (KCPS) and the Waldo Tower Neighborhood Association will host a community meeting to discuss the reuse of the former Bingham Middle School site on September 13 at the Waldo Branch of the Kansas City Public Library. The meeting starts at 10 am and will be held in Room A.
KCPS staff will discuss reuse options and take feedback for the 7.5 acre site, located at 7618 Wyandotte St. Bingham Middle School closed in 2001 and the building was demolished in 2016. KCPS has been working with developers and the community for more than a decade to find a suitable repurposing solution for the site.
Repurposing History
After soliciting proposals for the Bingham site in 2012, KCPS entered into a contract for the site to be redeveloped as a new 70,000 square foot Hen House grocery store (to replace the existing Price Chopper at 85th/Wornall). The prospective buyer terminated the contract in late 2012 prior to the conclusion of the due diligence period. In early 2013, KCPS held a public meeting to collect feedback on a reuse proposal for a Walmart Neighborhood Market. The proposal did not receive community support, after which KCPS decided to proceed with demolition of the building.
In response to requests from the community, KCPS hired Midland Wrecking, Inc to perform the abatement and demolition of the former Bingham Middle School, 7618 Wyandotte St. Work commenced in April 2016 and was substantially complete in November 2016. KCPS held discussions with the community about possible interim uses on July 8, 2017.
Representatives from KCPS and KC Public Library (KCPL) attended the November 2022 meeting of the Waldo Tower Neighborhood Association to share updates about the former Bingham Middle School site and collect community feedback. KCPL is currently evaluating options to upgrade/replace the existing Waldo Branch Library, including building a new Library on a portion of the Bingham site. Discussions are only exploratory.