A Kmart that has sat empty on NE Vivion Road since 2014 could soon become a VA outpatient clinic, if the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority can move forward with its proposal. The agency bought the 16.4-acre site in 2022, and now the long-vacant big-box store is at the center of a redevelopment proposal that could bring a facility worth between $85 million and $100 million to the Northland.
KCATA purchased the former Kmart property in 2022, as reported by the Kansas City Business Journal, with an eye toward transit-oriented redevelopment of the property that had sat idle for nearly a decade. The agency initially considered concepts including apartments, childcare, and transit facilities before pivoting toward the medical clinic option now on the table. KCATA spokesperson Brien Starner said the agency planned to purchase the site, prepare for demolition, and reconstruct assets to promote transit-oriented development, according to KSHB 41 Kansas City.
KCATA has proposed the former Kmart site for a VA outpatient clinic in Clay County.
A Crowded Field of Bidders
KCATA isn't the only developer pursuing projects in the Northland. IAS Partners Ltd. is pursuing a development near Metro North Crossing.
KCATA has said it plans to prepare the Vivion Road site for redevelopment, including demolition of the existing Kmart building. The agency is working to secure funding for that demolition before any clinic could break ground, according to KSHB 41.
Starner said KCATA is hopeful the VA outpatient clinic will locate at the site, while the agency is exploring other options if the project does not move forward, per KSHB 41's report.
Why Clay County, and Why Transit
The proposed clinic would add a VA outpatient option in Clay County. The Kansas City VA Health Care System also serves veterans through its hospital and regional outpatient network.
KCATA says the clinic could attract as many as 900,000 annual visitors and could serve an estimated 200,000 to 225,000 people who rely on public transit to get there, KSHB 41 reported, with multiple existing bus routes already running through the area near the proposed site. Veteran Russell Smart, who currently travels to Leavenworth for his care, is among those who could benefit from a closer option, the station noted.
That transit pitch arrives at an awkward moment for KCATA. The agency enacted major route cuts effective September 6, eliminating seven weekday bus routes following an $83.8 million municipal funding allocation from Kansas City, as previously reported by Hoodline. The agency is now promoting transit access for a potential clinic serving hundreds of thousands of riders annually even as it trims its own weekday service elsewhere in the system.
Site Selection Unresolved
It remains unresolved whether KCATA will secure the demolition funding it needs for the Kmart building and when the VA will announce which site it has chosen.
