Dodson Industrial District Association (DIDA)

 

I. Background and History

The Dodson Industrial District is a unique mix of industrial, commercial, and retail businesses in the southeast area of Kansas City, MO. It may be the oldest, organized district in the City, dating back well before World War II. The district evolved from an area that was once dominated by truck farms that provided the community with fresh vegetable, and feed mills that fatten sheep before their final trip to the slaughterhouses of the West Bottoms to a major industrial hub – producing, among other things, Pratt & Whitney airplane engines for the planes fighting the second war.

Over time, agricultural related uses gave way to light manufacturing, and to construction and equipment storage uses. The Dodson Planing Mill provided window satches, doors, and other home-building materials for the booming housing industry subsequent to the war.

The “Dodson Puddle Jumper” streetcar moved families back and forth between a then-booming downtown and the residential areas sprouting up at the edge of the city. Railcars ran from sidings in Dodson to the city, hauling flour to the bakeries in Westport and livestock to the yards in the West Bottoms.

The Blue River, generally, is the southern boundary of the district, and has played a strong role in the fortunes, and misfortunes, of the district. At one point, the oxbow of the river was cut off, diverting the river to its present course, leading the City to establish a landfill site in the former oxbow.

 As in most areas along the Blue, sudden and catastrophic flooding is a constant threat to businesses and homes in the area. The City and the U.S. Corps of Engineers (USACE) are now undertaking a flood mitigation project in Dodson that will alleviate flooding.

Construction will begin this year on a levee project that will protect the district from the sudden type of flooding that has plagued it in the past. This flood mitigation project will necessitate the relocation of several businesses whose properties back into or are adjacent to the Blue River.

Hayes Drilling Co.

Additional issues that will be addressed by the flood project is the ability to ameliorate the conditions in at least one blighted site at the Hickman Mills entry to the district.

Old Arrow Truck Facility

The Arrow Truck facility will be the site for the initial construction on the project, causing the blighted site to be demolished.

DIA Greensheet Priorities – 2003

Project Description	Needed Funds	Available Funds	Remarks
Acquisition of property needed for flood project	N/A	Funding provided for by City and USACE	Property acquisitions currently being negotiated
Straighten Prospect between 85th & Blue River Road	N/A	Design funded	Project approved in the capital development program
Remove blight on Arrow Truck facility owned by City	N/A	Unknown. Budget issues in Wash., D.C.	USACE indicates that project will be funded in stages; 1st stage to begin 09/2003.