Guadalupe Centers Moves Ahead with Plan to Turn Old FBI Office into High School, Gym

A vacant federal building in Kansas City is set to get a new lease on life as a high school, thanks to a proposal from the Guadalupe Centers. On June 18, the Kansas City Plan Commission approved a zoning change request submitted by the nonprofit, paving the way for the transformation of the former FBI field office near W. 13th Street and Summit Street.

Brian Hochstein of MKEC Engineering, who represented the organization during the meeting, shared that the redevelopment will be significant in scope. “This is quite a unique thing to turn this building into a school with a lot of other use functions,” Hochstein told the commission.

The 250-space facility, which includes both a surface lot and underground garage, has sat empty for about a year. Guadalupe Centers envisions it as a bustling educational space that will help accommodate its growing student body. The plan includes renovating the structure into a functional high school and, in the future, constructing a gymnasium.

“The gymnasium is a big wish for them in the future,” said Hochstein. “We figured as we’re going through this development plan process, now is the time to effectively master plan that, and help them also understand some of the constraints that would be imposed on them to construct those improvements.”

The nonprofit is currently fundraising for the project, which could also have broader community benefits. According to site plans, the gym may be rented for sports clinics, basketball tournaments, and other events when not in use by students.

Nearby residents have expressed enthusiasm about the project. “We feel that there is sufficient distance between this proposed project and the residential areas that it will have minimal impact on parking and traffic,” said Virginia Salazar Bellis, of the Westside Neighborhood Association Board of Directors. “We also fully support the rezoning to downtown mixed use because we feel it will allow Guadalupe to utilize these facilities in ways that are compatible with a high school.”

While the building’s shell will remain intact, Hochstein said the interior will be significantly overhauled. “From an FBI field office and a bunch of offices isn’t really conducive to the learning environment,” he noted. “We did explore trying to preserve portions of the building on the interior, but for the most part, it will be completely gutted on the inside.”

Guadalupe Centers has not yet announced a construction timeline, but the organization emphasized that growing demand across its existing campuses makes the expansion critical. Once completed, the facility will not only serve as a high school but also as a hub for broader educational and recreational activities in Kansas City’s Westside.

Originally reported by Heidi Schmidt in KCTV 5 News.