A once-bustling Kansas community, intended as a temporary home for hundreds of munitions workers during World War II, has fallen into disrepair in recent years.
Now he faces a new threat: a $4 billion 21st-century factory in his backyard.
The small hamlet of 500 residents of Clearview Village sits across the street from a Panasonic electric vehicle battery facility scheduled to open in 2025. The massive plant outside De Soto, Kansas, threatens even more their community thrives.
Residents say that, despite assurances from the village’s current owner, they fear their homes will be razed to make way for parking lots or future developments to support the factory.
“It’s a gold mine,” Ron Buerman, 28, told the Kansas City Star. “Basically, I think they’re going to make it either a damn parking lot for Panasonic or apartments.”
Clearwater Village, a neighborhood in De Soto, Kansas, faces a new threat: a new $4 billion Panasonic factory is under construction
The village, which was once a town in its own right, opened in 1943 but has seen decline in recent years as homes struggled to be maintained.
Today, village residents fear that the power plant under construction (photo) will pose an additional threat to their homes.
Artist’s impression of the factory at the end of its construction in 2025
He points to the village’s current state of deterioration as evidence of owner David Rhodes’ plans to sell or redevelop the land himself.
“I mean, that one’s vacant.” This one has a hole in it. “It’s a vacant one,” he said, pointing to the houses.
“People now are like, ‘Oh, well, that’s the end.’ » They try to stay here and squat here as long as possible. People are like, “Look, if we’re not here anymore, why am I going to pay rent? »
The Panasonic factory is currently under construction on the site of the former munitions factory that drew people to the area during the World War II era.
Started as “Sunflower Village” in 1943, the settlement housed workers at the nearby Sunflower Plant, which became the largest smokeless powder and propellant factory in the wake of Pearl Harbor.
The initial construction consisted of 175 concrete buildings housing 852 apartments and was orchestrated by the federal government.
Wartime restrictions meant homes were sparse, with basic finishes including cabinets without doors and coolers without metal.
Started as “Sunflower Village” in 1943, the settlement housed workers from the nearby Sunflower Plant, which became the largest smokeless powder and propellant factory in the wake of Pearl Harbor.
The initial construction consisted of 175 concrete buildings housing 852 apartments and was orchestrated by the federal government.
The land had two ponds and victory gardens to allow residents to grow their own fruit and vegetables amid strict rationing. The offer proved tempting and at its peak, Tournesol Village was home to more than 6,000 people.
With the arrival of more and more residents, the village opened a bar, restaurant, grocery store, beauty salon, barbershop and much more.
As demand increased, the government was forced to ferry an additional 680 prefabricated wooden structures from Niagara Falls, New York, which quickly sold out.
After World War II, the village was home to returning veterans and University of Kansas students.
The munitions factory saw renewed interest during the Korean War, before the end of the conflict led to a drop in employment rates. As the factory wound down operations, more residents left and the colony was sold to its first private buyer.
At the time, all but nine of the houses in this once-bustling village had been boarded up.
Oklahoma real estate developer Louis H. Ensley is committed to making the city livable again, hoping to lure potential tenants with cheap rents.
After World War II, the village was home to returning veterans and University of Kansas students.
The village saw a brief resurgence during the Korean War, but residents fled the area in the years that followed due to rising crime.
But the village was soon plagued by a skyrocketing crime rate, forcing many of its 1,800 residents to leave again.
Over the years, the village has changed hands several times and has been the subject of an extensive clean-up operation after the closure of the munitions factory in 1992.
Today, Clearview is home to longtime tenants and families who enjoy cheap rents.
A one-bedroom property costs around $760 per month in rent, while two beds cost around $1,050.
Omar Bonilla, 42, told the KC Star that his two-bedroom home, which he shares with his wife and three children, was recently rocked by construction at the Panasonic facility, causing cracks in his property.
“When they did that, the whole house started shaking,” he said. His wife Marbella added that they were now “getting a lot of bugs inside the house.”
For his part, Rhodes acknowledges the sad state of many properties on his land, but insisted he plans to “rehabilitate” his tenants’ homes.
“We put this on the National Register of Historic Places,” he said. “And the goal is to preserve it and rehabilitate it. Our desire – if we can get help from the State of Kansas and the City of De Soto – will be to do a major rehabilitation.
Over the years, the village has changed hands several times and has been the subject of an extensive clean-up operation after the closure of a munitions factory in 1992.
Residents say that, despite assurances from the village’s current owner, they fear their homes will be razed to make way for parking lots or future developments to support the factory.
Omar Bonilla, 42, told the KC Star that his two-bedroom home, which he shares with his wife and three children, was recently rocked by construction at the Panasonic facility, causing cracks in his property.
The Panasonic factory is currently under construction on the site of the former munitions factory
The plant is built outside of De Soto, Kansas.
It plans to gradually move tenants from their old apartments to newly renovated housing.
De Soto leaders, who annexed Clearview into a neighborhood in 1998, also want to see improvements in the village.
Rhodes says he hopes to begin his development project on the site in 2025 with a focus on affordable housing rather than more industrial buildings to support the Panasonic factory.
“We tried to be a conscientious owner,” he said. “It has no outward appeal. But when you get inside – for the square footage you have and the price you pay for rent – it’s very affordable.
“The desire is to make the outside as good as the inside.”
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