KANSAS CITY, MO, May 30, 2024 – Swope Health, a leading provider of comprehensive healthcare services in the Kansas City metro area, announces the construction of a new 12-acre multi-phased campus called Swope Health Village. This project turns the 5900 block of Swope Parkway into a modern residential campus offering affordable housing, supportive healthcare services, mental health services, geriatric and aging services, community gardens, and a community center. Swope Health Village is aspiring to be the State of Missouri’s first purpose-built community, intentionally designed to address health and well-being, reducing health and socioeconomic disparities.
Swope Ridge Geriatric Center, which closed in early 2022, served older adults for 65 years on the planned new Swope Health Village site. Swope Health re-imagines the 12-acre site and adjacent parcels into a campus that will foster social interaction through indoor and outdoor spaces for neighborhood and community events, classes, physical activities, and family playtime. In support of the project, the City of Kansas City has announced an appropriation of up to $5 million for the development of the project.
“Every Kansas Citian deserves access to resources, amenities and neighborhoods that prioritize health, wellness and an improved quality of life,” said Mayor Pro Tem Ryana Parks-Shaw, who represents the 5th City Council District of Kansas City. “I am proud of the work that Swope Health has done and will continue doing through this development to impact more favorable outcomes related to the social drivers of health. The City of Kansas City is eager to support and partner with them in this work.”
Swope Health Village includes plans for 200 units of senior affordable housing and 75 units of mental health housing supported by comprehensive mental health services. Fifteen apartments will support participants in Swope Health’s Programs of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE KC). The project will include an extension of the Kansas City Health Department and 10 additional beds for substance abuse treatment in collaboration with the Kansas City court system, in addition to office and retail space, including a new Kansas City Health Department office. As a purpose-built community, the project addresses the need for affordable, quality housing units in the neighborhood, and strengthens the neighborhood through a design that brings people together through healthy living.
Further, the purpose-built community is poised to become a driver of economic growth in the region, through capital investment and job creation. The projected investment of $100 million into facilities and services, along with 80 to 90 new quality jobs created in construction and dozens in healthcare, will represent one of the largest East Side investments in decades.
Demolition of the existing structures on the site began in January 2024, and construction of Swope Health Village will begin in early 2025. Swope Health is partnering with architectural firms Perkins Eastman, HFG Architecture and Moody Nolan for master planning and design support of the campus and residential structures. McCownGordon Construction is the general contractor. Swope Health plans to work with a developer for future phases.
In addition to support from the City of Kansas City, Swope Health has received a $7.5 million American Rescue Plan Act-funded capital improvement allocation from the State of Missouri. The health center will launch a capital campaign to raise the additional funds for construction and program activation.
“We are extremely grateful for the City’s vote of confidence in Swope Health Village,” said Swope Health President and CEO Jeron Ravin, J.D. “We have served this neighborhood for 55 years and will continue to honor our strong connections by being wise stewards of these investments. In all that we do, we remain steadfastly committed to the cause of health equity and access for everyone.”
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Swope Health, the Kansas City region’s largest Federally Qualified Health Center, has provided comprehensive primary care, dental care and mental health services in the Greater Kansas City area for 55 years. Recognized as a patient-centered medical home by the National Committee for Quality Assurance, Swope Health’s commitment to an integrated model of healthcare aligns with its mission of improving community health and wellness by delivering accessible, quality, comprehensive patient care. Accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities and The Joint Commission, Swope Health served more than 52,000 patients in 2023 at 23 locations throughout the area, including Kansas City, Belton, Independence, Kansas City North, Hickman Mills, and Wyandotte and Leavenworth Counties, in Kansas. Learn more at swopehealth.org.
