In New York City, an unusual apartment complex provides affordable housing and services just for grandparents raising their grandchildren. It has been a model for three similar developments in Chicago and Boston. And now a project just like it has opened in Kansas City.

Pemberton Park for GrandFamilies, on Swope Parkway in Kansas City, Mo., is available to adults who long to raise their grandchildren in an environment that is supportive of them and the children. Pemberton Park does just that, with a program called GrandFamilies.

New beginnings

The idea for Pemberton Park for GrandFamilies began with Brian Collins, of Cougar Capital, LLC, who had read about the Grandfamilies House in Boston and was intrigued by the concept. Recent research had revealed that as of the 2000 census, almost 64,000 children were being raised by their grandparents in Greater Kansas City. Those numbers indicated a strong need for the same special housing as had been built in Boston.

So Collins and Jim Scott, an architect and planner, talked to Housing Services of Kansas City, Inc., a non-profit affiliate of the Housing Authority of Kansas City, Mo. Housing Services of Kansas City provided the land and had a connection to the Family Friends Program of Children's Mercy Hospital—a support program for grandparents raising their grandchildren—and began collaborating with JoAnn Stovall, Family Friends Program coordinator. They held focus groups with grandparents raising grandchildren to hear what the grandparents would like if a facility could be designed just for them.

In March 2008, the core project team traveled to New York to visit the GrandParent Family Apartments to see such a development in action.

There they learned what was working and what wasn't. They learned that they should build a new facility from the ground up. They learned they would need strong programs for children. They began to thread together the outlines of Kansas City's own project.

The result of all the visioning and planning is Pemberton Park for GrandFamilies and its supportive services program, which will provide case management and activities for both grandparents and grandchildren. The project was developed by Cougar Capital and Housing Services of Kansas City, funded through the Missouri Housing Development Commission, and managed by the Yarco Companies.

Pemberton Park, with a total of 36 living units, broke ground in 2009 and construction is just wrapping up. The units are so new that smells of just-sawn wood and fresh paint are everywhere. The first residents moved into the three-floor West Building during early April, and the four-floor East Building opened a couple of weeks later.

The complex has two buildings, each with two-, three-, and four-bedroom apartments with living room, kitchen, bathroom, and a small laundry room with a washer and dryer. All utilities are electric, and all apartments feature one-level living.

The kitchens come outfitted with a stove, refrigerator, dishwasher, and microwave, and they open onto the living area. An eating bar separates the two rooms.

All the units have wide openings between rooms to ease mobility, and five of them are fully outfitted for people with a disability, including bathroom grab bars and raised toilet seats. Each outer hallway has sturdy hand rails the entire length of its walls.

To promote lots of interaction, each floor has a mingling area near the elevators, with chairs and coffee tables where residents can chat, read, or enjoy expansive views of Kansas City. Each floor has an "electronic corkboard" that displays photos of the residents so they can get to recognize each other more easily. Outdoors there is a playground with a sidewalk and benches—all intended to foster a sense of community. One of the buildings will house a commons area, with a large community/activity room, a computer/study room especially for children, and a grandparent lounge.

The apartment buildings are highly secure, with controlled entrances, electronic surveillance, and security personnel who will occasionally patrol inside.

Oh, yes: pets up to 15 pounds in weight are welcome.

Coordinated services

Housing Services of Kansas City will be entering into a contract with Phoenix Family Housing for case management services, program coordination, and youth activities. Community partners that have committed to providing services are Swope Health Services, including its health care programs and mental health services for families; Children's Mercy Hospital and its Family Friends Program, providing grandparent support groups, case management, and respite care; Legal Aid of Western Missouri, assisting with guardianship matters and other legal problems; and the UMKC Social Work Department, providing master's-level social work interns who will provide counseling and help providers with case management and youth services.

Additional services will be established with community partners such as Harvesters Nutrition Programs; before- and after-school programs; and recreation programs for youths, including tutoring, field trips, mentoring, Boy Scouts, and Girl Scouts. A food pantry may be established and case management services will include referring families to providers for all types of services, from basic needs to crisis intervention and mental health counseling.

Eligibility

The Pemberton Park for GrandFamilies rent is from $525 to $775 per month, depending on number of bedrooms.

Pemberton Park is part of the Section 42 housing program, which carries income guidelines for residents, ranging from $33,840 per year for a two-person household to $55,860 for a family of eight.

Pemberton Park also accepts Housing Choice Vouchers from the Section 8 program; these are portable across the state line.

Applicants for Pemberton Park for GrandFamilies must be 55 years or older and have legal guardianship of their grandchildren. (Staff from Legal Aid can guide grandparents through that process if they don't yet have guardianship.) The youngest child in the household cannot be older than 17 (in other words, at least one child must be a minor).

Other perks

The manager of Pemberton Park for GrandFamilies, Michelle Stevens, isn't any ordinary manager. Stevens is deeply involved with social services, working with the Southland Communities of Excellence program and EWT (Everybody Working Together) in Raytown. Her enthusiasm for this specialized housing, and her delight in helping the first residents settle in, is infectious.

"When people move in here, they are getting a beautiful home, and sharing their life with people who are going through what they are," Stevens said. "Raising grandchildren is not necessarily something they've chosen, and we recognize that. But we want to help make it easy and make it work."

She notes that the developers of Pemberton Park for GrandFamilies put a lot of thought into the property, including its location, which is within walking distance of the Swope Park Health Center, the Thomas Roque Child and Family Development Center, and The Shops on Blue Parkway—a growing retail area. It's also close to several churches and the Brush Creek and Southeast community centers, which have Silver Sneakers programs to encourage physical fitness. Pemberton Park is on five metro bus routes and is near to Highway 71, Blue Parkway, and Swope Parkway.

Pemberton Park for GrandFamilies
5011 Swope Parkway
Kansas City, Mo.
(South of Blue Parkway, between Swope Parkway and Cleveland Avenue)
Office open for tours and applications 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Monday–Friday
Michelle Stevens, Manager
816-921-7275
pembertonparkapts@gmail.com
liveatpembertonpark.com
yarco.com

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