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Kosovo Native and Former NATO Employee Joins CBKC as Comptroller
Anita Krasniqi, Community Builders of Kansas City’s new comptroller, grew up in Pristina, Kosovo – the country’s capital. With a population of just under 400,000, Pristina is Kosovo’s largest city by area and population. Due to its location in the center of the country, it is the economic, financial, political and trade center as well.
Growing up, Krasniqi always knew she would do something with numbers.
“Math was one of my favorite subjects in school, but it wasn’t until sophomore year in college that I started taking more accounting classes and directed my focus to accounting and finance,” she said.
After graduating from University of Pristina, Kosovo, Krasniqi worked at NATO doing general accounting before moving to the United States in 2006.
“I came to Kansas City to join my husband, who was attending UMKC School of Dentistry at the time,” she said. Her husband is also from Kosovo and had come to the United States earlier as a war refugee.
When Krasniqi first arrived in Kansas City, she enrolled in Rockhurst University where she earned her MBA. Her first job in the United States was as staff accountant at QComm Corporation. Next, she worked as an accountant at Clarkson Construction Company and most recently as senior accountant for Harvesters.
This September, she was offered a position at CBKC and was immediately interested.
“Having been in the non-profit sector, I knew the work would be fulfilling, but it was CBKC’s impact in the local community that excited me most,” Krasniqi said.
Krasniqi said she has enjoyed her first few weeks on the job and has realized another advantage of working for the organization.
“Most companies are bringing in experts to train on DEI,” she explained. “At CBKC, diversity, equity and inclusion aren’t just concepts, they are a way of business that is applied daily in a way that I haven’t seen in 16 years in Kansas City.”
As comptroller Krasniqi handles all processes related to the organization’s financials and, through that work, she looks forward to helping CBKC complete its mission of transforming communities and improving the lives of families.
When asked what she misses most about her home of Pristina, she did not hesitate.
“What I miss most is my family,” she said. “My entire family is still there. Fortunately, we travel back and forth but it’s not as often as we’d like, so we miss celebrating some milestones together.”
Krasniqi shared that the other thing she misses is the traditional Kosovan cuisine.
“The traditional food in my country is hard to make and there are no restaurants in Kansas City, or most American cities, that offer it. New York City has a few eateries with Kosovan food, so we eat it when we travel there.”
Traveling is something Krasniqi says she enjoys doing outside of work, as well as bike riding and staying active with her husband and three children, ages 12, nine and four.
Please join us in welcoming Krasniqi to the team.
A Tale of Two Kings
A Tribute to John King
Community Builders of Kansas City would like to recognize John King and thank him for his valuable leadership of Blue Parkway Sun Fresh, now KC SunFresh on the Boulevard. KC Sun Fresh was CBKC’s first grocery and King led its successful transformation into a best-in-class store that delivers the quality shopping experience the community deserves. King oversaw the store’s product line revamp including more fresh and organic options, customer experience improvement and supporting services additions such as online grocery shopping.
An experienced grocery operator, King worked nearly 20 years for one of the area’s largest supermarket systems, which operates multiple store brands including Hen House and Price Chopper in addition to Sun Fresh. King also served as operation supervisor for XPO Logistics, a supply chain operator, and, for more than five years, owned a shopping and delivery service.
King left CBKC in August 2022 to pursue other opportunities. The team at CBKC would like to thank King and wish him success in his next chapter.
The Lion King at Starlight Movie Night
On a picture-perfect Wednesday night in September, Starlight and Community Builders of Kansas City partnered for the third year in a row to present a movie night under the stars. More than 150 community members attended a free outdoor screening of Disney’s 1994 classic, The Lion King. Families and kids of all ages enjoyed the epic adventure of Simba, a feisty lion cub who “just can’t wait to be king.”
After rainy weather imposed the cancelation of the original event scheduled for Saturday, September 10, a beautiful crisp fall-like night settled in on the new date of Wednesday, September 21. Better late than never!
Welcome Aboard to our Four New Team Members
Community Builders of Kansas City has added four new staff members to help keep up with its recent growth. Please join us in welcoming Michael Dayton, senior advisor; Jon Hartner, development specialist; Elexa Pierson, real estate and project analyst; and JoEllen Richardson, comptroller for CBKC subsidiary EastPointe Realty.
Michael Dayton is an operations and finance leader with an extensive background including enterprise-wide strategy and corporate development, financial planning and analysis, technology, administrative operations and project management. Dayton’s experience stems from past posts at KIPP Endeavor Academy, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Community Development Corporation of Kansas City. As senior advisor, his charge is reviewing systems and procedures to ensure they are working towards optimal productivity and operation at CBKC, EastPointe Realty and the KC Sun Fresh grocery stores.
“I’m impressed with all CBKC has accomplished and welcome the challenge of helping the organization grow, attracting dependable clientele to multi-family units and filling the ever-growing internal talent funnel,” he said.
Dayton was born and raised in Kansas City, grew up in Parade Park and attended Rockhurst University.
Jon Hartner, development specialist, joined the team in March 2022 to provide professional development support for the initiation, procurement, planning and implementation of CBKC’s community development projects. Hartner was most recently at Black & Veatch and before that was development planner for Prairie Fire development. His experience is in large-scale infrastructure planning, housing economics, social science and community development.
“I was drawn to CBKC because of its past accomplishments and unwavering dedication to underserved and under-resourced communities in Kansas City,” he explained. “After working at an engineering company with over 10,000 employees worldwide I was eager to broaden my skillset and help support any and all facets of a community-focused organization.”
Hartner grew up in Ohio, Wisconsin and Illinois and first came to the Kansas City area after he graduated with a master’s degree in urban planning from the University of Kansas.
Elexa Pierson first worked at CBKC as an intern when Howard University went online during the pandemic. She returned to work full-time at CBKC upon graduation in 2021. Pierson’s responsibilities have included bringing to the grocery stores amenities of suburban grocery stores and more recently, attracting a national retailer to the Shops on Blue Parkway. Her big-picture goal is increased attention on Kansas City’s East Side and changing perceptions of it.
“I joined CBKC because I enjoy the idea of one team driving toward the same goal and the fact that we’re the underdog proving something can be done when others think it can’t,” she said.
Pierson grew up in the Lee’s Summit area and earned her bachelor’s degree in health science from Howard University.
JoEllen Richardson brings expertise in multi-family finance to her new role as comptroller at EastPointe Realty. After coming on board in February 2022, Richardson’s first charge was automating processes. She added a resident portal to all multi-family properties enabling tenants to conduct routine tasks such as payments and maintenance requests through a computer or a mobile phone. Additionally, she is overseeing an update to computer lab areas in each building with Wi-Fi to ensure access for all residents.
“What attracted me to CBKC was the chance to work in a smaller, non-corporate environment where I feel like I’m making a difference,” she said.
Richardson is from Kansas City, attended Paseo Academy and earned her bachelor’s degree at Saint Louis University and MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management.
We are happy to welcome Dayton, Hartner, Pierson and Richardson into the CBKC fold.
Tenant Spotlight: Kansas City G.I.F.T. Business Center
Located in Community Builders of Kansas City’s 5008 Prospect building, Generating Income For Tomorrow’s (G.I.F.T.) goal is to create a clear path to economic prosperity and wealth for the African American community in Kansas City.
G.I.F.T. provides grants to Black-owned businesses, especially those that operate in low-income areas, to create more jobs and convert an economically disadvantaged area into one of opportunity. In addition, it offers a full-service business center and coworking space with 10 cubicles available by reservation. Support includes resources to address banking, accounting, legal and marketing services and business classes, coaching and headshots.
Founded in 2020, G.I.F.T. has fought for impactful change to close the racial wealth gap, reduce poverty-related crime and reverse the effects of systemic racism in our city.
Due to the discriminatory practices of redlining (refusing a loan or insurance to someone because they live in an area deemed to be a poor financial risk) in Kansas City, Troost Ave. has long been seen as the dividing line between Black and white people of Kansas City and the dividing line between high- and low-income communities.
According to G.I.F.T., zip codes 64109, 64110, 64127, 64128, 64130 and 64132 located east of Troost Ave. have the highest populated, low-income communities in Kansas City. Collectively they have a population of 107,398 and a poverty rate of 36 percent. Of those 107,398 residents, 75.18 percent of them are Black.
Conversely, zip codes 64113, 64114, 64118, 64119, 64151 and 64152 located west of Troost have the highest populated, high-income communities in Kansas City. With a combined population of 145,554 residents and a poverty rate of just 5.03 percent, 91.82 percent of residents are white.
Investing in Black-owned businesses in low-income communities is a proven method of increasing the economic prosperity of the community. However, a 2017 study by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition found that banks were twice as likely to provide business loans to white applicants than Black ones, and three times as likely to have follow-up meetings with white applicants than more qualified Black ones.
G.I.F.T. provides $25,000 and $50,000 growth grants and $10,000 startup grants. The organization’s plan is to award a minimum of one growth grant and one startup grant per month and hopes to eventually create 100-200 new jobs in low-income communities each year. Its goal is to see a steady decline in the poverty rate of the urban core.
Through the generous donations of its sponsors, G.I.F.T. has been able to award $239,000 to 14 Black-owned businesses, creating 22 jobs in Kansas City’s urban core as of December 2021.
The business center is open to the entire community weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and all services are free.
You can support G.I.F.T. in its efforts to end systemic racism by volunteering, donating or planning a fundraiser. Learn more at www.kansascitygift.org or 816-766-7860.
Leasing Now: The Rochester, Home Is Where the Heart Is
The Rochester, Community Builders of Kansas City’s first-of-its-kind development east of Prospect, is taking application for its 64 units now.
“The Rochester brings a residential option to this corridor that previously did not exist,” said Emmet Pierson, Jr., president and CEO of CBKC. “The 81,400-square-foot, $12.6 million project adds another dynamic element to CBKC’s campus that already includes more than 430,000 square feet of diversified office, retail and and institutional space. The market-rate, multi-family development is just one of many transformative projects CBKC is working on along the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. corridor and throughout the East Side.”
The Rochester offers one-bedroom, one-bedroom plus den and two-bedroom/two-bathroom units as well as a penthouse two-bedroom executive suite. Units feature high-demand finishes and amenities including stainless steel appliances, solid-surface countertops, in-unit washer and dryer, modern lighting and manufactured hardwood flooring. The units are pet-friendly, offer free Wi-Fi and come equipped with the Homebase locking system for remote access.
Building-wide amenities include a rooftop terrace, private lounge, fitness center, lobby and reception area and community meeting space. Outside, landscaped front and back yard spaces come furnished for grilling and gathering around the fire pit. Rates start at $1050 per month.
The Rochester is located three miles from the Country Club Plaza at 3939 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in the Mt. Cleveland neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri. Public transit is adjacent to the building with bike paths and grocery, banking, shopping and health and community services all conveniently within walking distance.
If you are interested in scheduling a tour or learning more about The Rochester, visit therochesterkc.com.
CBKC Awarded MHDC Low-Income Housing Tax Credits for Twin Elms
Community Builders of Kansas City was recently awarded Missouri Housing Development Commission low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC) for a substantial $8.8 million renovation of its Twin Elms retirement community. Located at 41st Street and The Paseo, Twin Elms Senior Housing Complex fills an overwhelming need for affordable senior housing in Kansas City’s urban core. The 54-unit development has been recognized for its art deco design and amenities such as controlled access to the building, onsite laundry, off-street parking, community space and exercise room.
“As a senior community, Twin Elms has a homey feel with residents often socializing together in the common areas,” said Shannon Hesterberg, CBKC chief operations and real estate officer. “And being located in the Ivanhoe Southwest neighborhood with close proximity to the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum, Country Club Plaza and downtown Kansas City while also being affordable make it a high-demand property.”
Renovation to the 20-year-old property includes exterior improvements such as a new roof, stucco priming and painting, new landscaping, fencing and irrigation system and sidewalk repairs. Inside upgrades include new HVAC, flooring, kitchen and bathroom cabinetry, countertops, window coverings, appliance, plumbing fixtures and lighting. Construction will begin later this year.
The on-site amenities will be updated as well. Improvements comprise a renovated primary community room with kitchenette, office space with computer stations, smaller community room with TV area and billiards, fitness room and small library.
In keeping with MHDC’s five key service parameters, Horizon Housing Foundation will be the primary service coordinator for all residents at the property. Horizon’s planned services include community social events, healthy luncheons, balance and fitness classes, financial literacy, employment support and utility and rent assistance resources. In addition, residents will have access to a monthly mobile food pantry, nutrition and healthy cooking classes and an annual wellness assessment.
Leasing and management of the property will be handled by EastPointe Realty, CBKC’s real estate management company. Twin Elms will continue to serve renters with very low income to those with up to 60 percent median area household income.
“This is a desirable senior housing complex so I suggest that anyone who may be interested in a unit join the waiting list by calling (816) 923-1455,” said Hesterberg.