The iconic rainbow building on Troost is no longer at risk of demolition. Here’s the deal

The bright pink building at 4337 Troost Ave. is notorious in the Manheim Park neighborhood.. It’s frequented by Kansas Citians, including those experiencing homelessness, for the free food and clothing that owner Jerry Crowell distributes out front.

This eye-catching location has seen its share of challenges: A January 2021 fire led to complaints from neighbors and an emergency demolition order from the city. Some nearby business owners and neighbors say the building attracts drug dealing, loitering and other crimes.

But Crowell’s recent renovations have paid off: The structure, known as A Splash of Life, is being removed from the city’s Dangerous Buildings List in the coming months.

A reader asked The Star about the building as part of KCQ, our collaborative project with the Kansas City Public Library answering readers’ questions about Kansas City’s history, quirks and curiosities. Here’s what we were able to learn:

What is Splash of Life?

The A Splash of Life building is decorated with painted rainbows, children’s toys, lawn ornaments, fake flowers, small figurines and paintings, signboard letters, Halloween decorations and colorful spray-painted messages like, “We are all God’s children,” and, “The world needs to be ran by the people.”

“A lot of people tell me when they go by, it makes them feel happy,” said Crowell, sporting a baseball cap with the brim cut off, a NASA T-shirt decorated with puff paint and 10 rainbow rubber bracelets on each wrist. “It makes them feel good. It brings their goodness out.”

Since purchasing the building in 2008, Crowell has run A Splash of Life as an informal distribution center. Its shelves and donation bins take up much of the sidewalk in front of the building, stuffed with clothing, books and canned food. There’s also fresh mint growing in large planters.

“Right now, it helps people get the immediate things they can’t afford,” Crowell said. “Everybody, no matter what color, what race, what religion or sexuality they are, everybody is welcome. Everybody can come except bullies and people that don’t have respect for others.”

The building’s color was a happy accident, he said: The only paint color he could find with six gallons available was called “Red Velvet,” which turned out to be pink. A two-time brain cancer survivor, Crowell sees the color as symbolizing the disease.

“I did not decide. God is the one who decided,” he said. “I didn’t care what color it was, all I knew was (that) I needed paint to paint. And it turned out to be pink, and there are so many people that like it. Many, many people. There may be a few that don’t, but that’s not their business.”

‘I’m trying to get good people involved’

Theft has been a nagging problem over the past decade and a half. Crowell said some patrons clear the shelves of donations or steal construction materials from the driveway the building shares with a neighboring day care center. Others have presented themselves as volunteers and offered to help Crowell renovate inside, only to steal tools, electrical wiring and other supplies.

“I can’t read minds and tell who is a good person and who is a bad person,” Crowell said. He now mistrusts offers for help, but he still needs assistance with renovations as well as security to prevent more theft.

“The problem is I can’t be here 24/7,” he said. “My health has gone down and it’s going down worse now. That’s why I’m trying to get good people involved. Every time I think I get a good person involved, it turns out it’s not.”

No longer ‘dangerous’

A Splash of Life has been on the city’s Dangerous Buildings List since Crowell bought it in 2008. Using building code standards, city inspectors deemed it too risky to leave standing.

More recently, they placed A Splash of Life under the category “Rehab by Owner in Progress,” according to city data. This means it wasn’t slated for demolition, but repairs were needed before it could be removed from the list.

Crowell replaced the roof and updated flooring with new support beams.

“We are getting ready to take it off the list because he has done enough improvements to the building so it is no longer an issue,” city spokesman John Baccala told The Star. “He knows what things he needs to address and he still will need to address those … but he has continued to do enough work on the building to warrant it being taken off the Dangerous Buildings List.”

Crowell still has to ensure that both stories are structurally sound, install electrical wiring and clear the interior of donations and construction materials. Once these upgrades are made, he hopes to live on the second floor while running a community resource center and event space on the first floor.

The property is zoned as a “community business.” This classification accommodates “a broad range of retail and service uses” but does not allow for residential use. That means Crowell may have to apply for a rezoning to live there.

Neighborhood reputation

Some community members say they support Crowell’s mission.

“I think he helps people,” said neighbor Mercedes Gutierrez, speaking in Spanish. “People will donate stuff. … People help him because, well, he has to survive.”

But others feel that the building attracts unwanted visitors and illegal activity, outweighing the charitable work it does. William Bates, who owns four houses across the street from Splash of Life that he rents as Airbnbs, said he was concerned about the donated items.

“You have to sort through those things,” Bates said. “I used to work at a homeless shelter (and) not (every) donation is a good donation because sometimes those clothes come with bed bugs and mice and whatever. … When the stuff that he gets sits outside in the elements on top of that, that’s not good for the homeless people or anybody walking by, honestly, at all.”

Crowell has lidded bins where passersby are supposed to leave donations, and said that unsavory drop-offs are not a problem unique to his building.

“I try to keep it clean and picked up,” he said. “A lot of these (nearby) thrift stores, they get a lot of trash and junk left too when they’re not open. It’s not just me.”

While Bates said A Splash of Life has not hurt his Airbnbs, he still has a “completely negative” view of the building, calling it an “eyesore” and “just an empty shell that needs to be torn down.”

City spokesman Baccala said the city hears both pros and cons

“It’s a real delicate balance for us,” he said. “We hear from the day care owner (next door) and others who are livid about the situation. And we hear from equally as many people who are saying, listen, Jerry is trying to do a good thing and they are backing him. So we’re hearing from both sides.”

Baccala added that the Dangerous Buildings Division is only concerned with structural integrity, not what happens in or around them. He said neighbors should report concerns to 311 or police.

The path forward

Crowell has big plans for A Splash of Life. He hopes to install rooftop solar panels, a public laundry room and accessible bathrooms and showers outside the building. Inside the first floor, he plans to offer public computer terminals, a resource office to connect people with local housing assistance, and a snack bar selling food and coffee.

“We’re going to give out boxed meals to everybody, but every week,” he said. “Most food places you can only get once a month. But fruit don’t last a month, milk don’t last a month, right? So we’re going to give a box, and it’s going to be healthy.”

Crowell added that he plans to give food and drinks to the unhoused for free, while charging a low price to those who can afford to pay. He would like to bring in a manager to live in the rear wing of the building and help prevent theft and other crimes.

“Back here, we’re going to have an apartment for A Splash of Life manager. They will get to live here for free and manage the place and they can have a regular job,” he said. “I want people to volunteer. I want people that keep the place clean, help organize.”

Victor Ellison, one of Crowell’s friends who occasionally stops by the property, said he thinks permanent residents in the building will help discourage the theft and damages.

“There needs to be supervision,” he said. “If there was someone living there, it would be fine. That would stop a lot of the stuff that’s going on. … I think he’s got good plans, if he’s got the help to do it.”

Do you have more questions about unique locations in Kansas City? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.