THE KANSAS CITY STAR MAGAZINE
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THE KANSAS CITY STAR MAGAZINE AUGUST 19, 2012
NUTTER’S TOWN
This businessman and political
mover-and-shaker ‘does not just
allow things to happen —he
orchestrates things.’ PAGE 6
TAKE ANY GOOD PICTURES THIS SUMMER? ENTER OUR TRAVEL PHOTO CONTEST! | DETAILS, PAGE 5
MR. MORTGAGE BY CINDY HOEDEL | PHOTOS BY RICH SUGG
T
he bratwurst-tasting station at The sausages are done and toothpicked.
the Costco on Linwood Bou- As James B. Nutter Nutter pops one into his mouth and steers
levard, back by the meat counter, his wheelchair toward the cheese sampling
has just weathered a big rush and prospers, so does table.
is temporarily out of samples. ❚ ❚ ❚
An older man, projecting an Kansas City. His Kansas City knows James B. Nutter & Co.
aura of size and height despite behind-the-scenes is a mortgage banking company.
sitting in a wheelchair, is waiting But how many people would know that it
patiently for the next batch of influence shapes is one of the oldest such firms in the United
sausage rounds to cook up on the griddle politics and progress. States, in the top 10 largest of the nation’s
when a young African-American woman a privately owned mortgage firms, and that it
few feet away stops chattering to a friend makes home loans in all 50 states? It cur-
midsentence, turns toward the man and rently services $7 billion in mortgages.
asks, “Are you Mr. Nutter?” children attend summer programs there. In the 1950s and 1960s, James B. Nutter &
The man’s clear hazel eyes smile first. James B. Nutter Sr. purchased the dilapi- Co. became the first mortgage company in
Then the sides of his mouth curl up slightly. dated building, paid for its overhaul and Kansas City to make home loans in black
“Yes, I am.” installed a park next door. He did this after neighborhoods and to single women on a
Stepping around her cart, the woman reading a newspaper story about the area’s large scale. And, in 1989, the first in the
extends her right hand and says, “I never struggle to drive out drug houses and make country to write a reverse mortgage.
met you before, but I’ve seen your picture. the streets safe again. Only business-channel junkies might
You helped put up the money for our com- In his deep, slowpoke voice — think realize that during the subprime meltdown
munity center.” Jimmy Stewart — and with characteristic in 2006 and 2007, the financial media held
The woman gripping the large paw of the emphasis on key words, Nutter responds, “I the company up as a poster child of fiscal
snowy-haired man is Estella Tucker, a resi- am very glad to meet you.” responsibility for refusing to get into junk
dent of the Ivanhoe neighborhood, where a It turns out the woman using the griddle loans.
former fire station has been rehabbed and also lives in Ivanhoe, and she adds more “We lost market share because we didn’t
turned into a gathering place. Tucker’s bubbling praise. make those horrible loans, because it was
6 THE KANSAS CITY STAR MAGAZINE ★ August 19, 2012
cover story
At the midtown Costco, Estella Tucker of Kansas City recognizes James B. Nutter from photos and thanks him for building a community center in her
neighborhood. Nutter and longtime friend Jerry Wyatt (left) visit the store every Saturday.
Generally, it’s not hard to guess what
wrong!” Nutter says. later to make room for a new one. He which he poured his heart, soul and camp will be flying the Nutter banner. A
The 84-year-old founder is one of the worked tirelessly to improve streetlights cash. staunch Democrat, he’s unterrified of
community’s most influential postwar so residents would feel safe after dark. One of them is Nutterville, but on this the L-word.
pillars, “the most dominant political That Costco where he met Tucker? trolley track of a tale that will be several “You can’t get any more liberal than
figure who was not on the ballot,” says Nutter put his shoulder behind City stops down. me. It’s impossible.”
Dave Helling, a political writer for The Councilman Jim Glover’s plan for rede- ❚ ❚ ❚ U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II says,
Star. velopment at 31st and Main streets. Speaking of trolleys, Nutter doesn’t “Jim Nutter has been a transformative
Nutter has shaped the city physically Urbanites no longer have to haul out to like the one that has been proposed for figure in this town for decades, all the
and altered our lives in ways that are not the burbs to buy those giant containers downtown. Thinks it’s a waste of money. way back to Public Accommodations in
easily recognized and too easily forgot- of food. Same with lumber and such at In politics, it usually boils down to 1964.” That was when Nutter canvassed
ten. He spent energy and money to the Home Depot next door. being for or against someone or some- his own Ward 8 to pass the ordinance
repeal blue laws so Kansas Citians could But Nutter’s proudest accomplish- thing. Not so long ago, Nutter irritated that made it illegal for shops, hotels and
buy groceries on Sunday. He fought so ments, he will tell you, are three neigh- streetcar supporters who believed he restaurants to refuse service to black
they wouldn’t have to buy a $7 sticker to borhood revitalization projects, in- was stacking his chips on the other side patrons.
put on their car and scrape it off a year cluding the Ivanhoe firehouse, into of the table. “Imagine walking around in an all-
THE KANSAS CITY STAR MAGAZINE ★ August 19, 2012 7
Nutter supported Hillary Clinton in the primary of her presidential campaign but backed Barack Obama “100 percent” after that. Nutter met Obama at a
campaign event for Robin Carnahan.
white neighborhood along Ward Park- The power broker who gives his nod fessional integrity means he is respected “Jim does not just allow things to
way and knocking on doors and telling to judge nominees has second-guessed a by politicians and civic leaders of all happen. He orchestrates things. He does
people, ‘It is wrong to not let African- few. An opponent of the death penalty, makes and models. He can try to beat his homework,” says barbecue baron
Americans live where they want and eat Nutter speaks passionately about getting your brains out at the ballot box one day, and good friend Ollie Gates, who man-
where they choose,’ ” says Cleaver, a men off Missouri’s death row in the then sit down at breakfast the next to aged the doomed campaign for Bruce
former Kansas City mayor. 1990s. He gets involved in cases only find ways to work together on the next Watkins against Berkley.
“A lot of us will remember to the grave after reading all the evidence and be- issue. Dutch Newman, founder of the West-
that the area where Jim Nutter lived coming convinced of an inmate’s in- “In business his reputation is totally port Landing Democratic Club, worked
voted ‘yes’ because this man put himself nocence. untarnished. It just shines,” says politico with Nutter in 1997 to upgrade 40,000
out. It was unbelievable for that moment In one case, a mentally disabled man and confidant Anita Gorman, who met streetlights and install 30,000 more.
in history.” had been convicted of a rape and mur- Nutter when they co-chaired Richard “Jim is so smart, yet so charming and
Nutter enrolled for his Ph.D. in pre- der in a small town. At Nutter’s urging, Berkley’s 1979 mayoral campaign. Berk- so kind,” she says. “If he ever acts like a
cinct politics at age 12 when he deliv- then-Gov. Mel Carnahan stayed the ley was a Republican. bully, he must do it when he’s alone
ered political tracts for nickels and execution and appointed a panel to “And that’s very attractive no matter because I’ve known him since the ’50s,
dimes for Democratic and Republican review the case. The conviction was what side of the fence you’re on. If he and I’ve never seen him act that way.”
ward bosses. ultimately overturned, and the man was says something is true, you don’t have to But don’t let that courteous conversa-
“I was in it for the money,” he says, freed. worry about it.” tion fool you. He’s not loath to pick up
chuckling. But he got to see how things Although he’s a behind-the-scenes Underestimating Nutter has never the tab for tough attack ads.
got done and by whom. diesel for the Democrats, Nutter’s pro- been a good idea. Not so long ago, he pleaded with a
8 THE KANSAS CITY STAR MAGAZINE ★ August 19, 2012
cover story
“We got 67.2 percent. That was my a two-year span and were best man at
greatest campaign.” each other’s weddings.
❚ ❚ ❚ And another: They have a great story
Nutter’s passion for business and about President John F. Kennedy’s inau-
politics, and his idea of fairness, were guration.
forged early in the warmth of a loving On a whim, they decided to fly to
family and in the cold realities of the Washington, D.C., for the ceremony and
Great Depression. balls. Although the men had tuxes, Nut-
One of the country’s biggest mortgage ter convinced Sebree they needed to
lenders lost his childhood home to fore- rent tails.
closure when he was 12. At the Mayflower Hotel they so
His father, Frank C. Nutter, was a looked the part that they were ushered
proud Roosevelt man and union sup- in a rear door — which Nutter had
porter, a World War I veteran who loved scouted — along with the presidential
history. At one point, Frank Nutter was a entourage. They grabbed a box adjacent
copy editor for The Kansas City Star, but to JFK and Jackie’s, got to brush lips to
by 1940 was out of work. After the fami- her hand, and enjoyed the party.
ly lost their home near Loose Park, they Before getting his business degree in
moved into a rental house a few miles 1949, Nutter served 11⁄2 years in the
away. Jim Nutter’s father later found Army at Camp Stoneman near San Fran-
James B. Nutter Jr. (left) is president of the company his father work in advertising and often wrote cisco. But once out of school, he could
founded in 1951. speeches for union leaders. not find a job in his beloved Kansas City.
By 13, Nutter was working at South- Sebree’s father — an attorney at Se-
west Library, putting books away and bree, Sebree and Shook, now the Shook,
cleaning up — 30 hours a week for $30 a Hardy & Bacon law firm from which
month. Sebree retired — landed him a position
“My check was 29 dollars and 70 as mortgage loan processor with Charles
cents. They took out 1 percent for Social F. Curry Co. Just a year later, Nutter
Security,” he remembers. started his own City Wide Mortgage Co.
Nutter sometimes spent 15 cents for a with a partner. A year after that, in 1951,
ticket and candy at the movies like other he went solo, founding James B. Nutter
kids. On the other hand, he opened a & Co. and working out of his apartment.
savings account with $50 after his sec- Nutter attributes his eventual success
ond paycheck. to a sharp eye for opportunities that
Nutter’s childhood best friend was others miss.
Frank Sebree, who lived in the Sunset He was one of the first to get into
Hill area on the edge of Loose Park. The government-backed Veterans Adminis-
two went through Bryant Elementary tration home loans, which became his
School and Southwest High School bread and butter.
together. “Other companies were afraid of them
Sebree recalled his friend as the one because there was no money down.
everybody wanted on their team for any Even though the government backed
recess game. them, people were afraid there would be
“Jim wanted to win, and he was a lot of collection work. And the loans
shrewd, and he had ideas how we could were smaller and you could only charge
Randall O’Donnell (right), CEO of Children’s Mercy Hospital, drops by win. But he wanted it to be fair, he didn’t the vet a 1 percent closing cost,” he says.
Nutter’s office. Nutter has served on the hospital’s board and is a major want to cheat to win,” Sebree says. “But there were millions of them.”
benefactor. Sebree and Nutter were doubles part- Grunt, grunt, grunt.
ners in tennis as teenagers. Nutter’s first investor was Charles E.
“Frank was better than me at singles, Curry, president of Home Savings Co. —
Democratic candidate for statewide County Courthouse, Nutter took Bishop but I always knew I was going to beat the son of the man who gave him his
office to spend money Nutter was of- John Sullivan of the Kansas City-St. somebody if I could win one of the first first job. In 1953, Curry put up $200,000
fering for such ads, just in case. Joseph Diocese to see the brutal condi- two sets. I won every third set I ever to make those VA loans.
“When they come at you with filth, tions. Inmates were hosed down to played. I wore them down,” Nutter says. “I made $10,000 in three weeks.”
you have got to be ready with filth,” he relieve their suffering in the summer Now is a good time to mention one of The next year he moved his operation
says. The candidate declined and is not heat. his favorite expressions: “Grunt, grunt, into a rented building on Main Street in
in office today. “Hotter than the hinges of Hades,” he grunt.” It’s often punctuated by tapping midtown.
Nutter declines to estimate how much recalls of the Tom Pendergast-built or pounding the nearest surface. In 1958, trying to get money to grow
he has poured into political causes. But lock-up. It describes his life philosophy of his company, he picked out 2,000 sav-
records indicate that since 2004, the The bishop had such respect for Nut- persistence. In his mind, he’s Aesop’s ings and loans around the country, had
Nutter family and company have given ter, who is not Catholic, that he agreed tortoise. 2,000 letters printed on the finest statio-
nearly $1 million to federal and state to read whatever Nutter wrote for a TV At the University of Missouri, the two nery, and paid a typist to personalize
candidates or political committees. That commercial. The spot ended with Sulli- friends pledged to the same fraternity, each with a salutation in the recipient’s
number, which would surely be dwarfed van saying, “For God’s sake, for your Phi Delta Theta, and were campus name.
by previous decades of contributing, sake, vote for these bonds.” champions at table tennis. Grunt, grunt, grunt.
does not count the city races and issues Getting a “for God’s sake” out of the Nutter paid his own tuition and house From the hundreds of replies, he land-
in which he has dabbled. bishop! Political players were stunned. fees. “I had money in the bank, as usual.” ed business from a Des Moines firm and
Getting behind the 1979 bond issue to The jail bond issue needed a two- One more thing about Sebree and another in New Jersey.
replace an aging jail atop the Jackson thirds majority. Nutter: The best friends married within “If it hadn’t been them, it would have
THE KANSAS CITY STAR MAGAZINE ★ August 19, 2012 9
been other companies six months later. I stand-up person.” apartments are open. Anyone who can said, ‘OK, I’ll support you, and I’ll take
was going to keep plugging away at it Nutter’s longtime banker, Charles pay their rent can live here,’ ” Cleaver control of the money. We’re gonna work
until something happened. There was Kopke, retired senior vice president of says. “It was a radical thing to do.” together, and we’ll do this thing.’ ”
never any question in my mind,” he says. Commerce Trust, says Nutter’s desire to It’s not that he’s knee-jerk about it. Political blessing given, the white
Nutter pursued big banks in New give folks a chance extended to minority Nutter did not line up with Barack banker was soon showing up in black
York, too, but none would give him any neighborhoods and to Wyandotte Coun- Obama in the primaries. Although he churches. One tactic harkened to the old
business because he didn’t already have ty where others were hesitant to offer knows the Clintons, he doesn’t describe days — the personal letter. Nutter
some business with the others. Catch-22. loans. himself as a FOB or FOH. As a supporter pushed Cleaver to write one to residents
On one trip there, he called on 40 sav- “The Nutter company has always been of women’s issues and health care, he in black neighborhoods explaining how
ings banks and commercial real estate very open, and they have welcomed favored Hillary, but once she was out, he important it was for them to vote.
banks. business from whatever source,” Kopke put his muscle behind Obama. “I went to grocery stores, and people
“Nobody ever forgot me. I was tall — says. Nor did he go for Bruce Watkins, the came up to me and said, ‘Reverend, I got
6-foot-41⁄2 — and fairly thin and had red As civic projects take up more and first black candidate for Kansas City your letter, and I appreciate your send-
hair, and I always brought fresh flowers more of Nutter’s time, his son Jim (no mayor. Gates noted that after Berkley ing it to me,’ ” Cleaver says.
for the secretary. Finally one company one calls him Junior) has run the 315- won, however, a prestigious assignment “I would never have been mayor if it
said, ‘I’ve got $1 million for you.’ ” employee company as president since to the Board of Parks and Recreation weren’t for Jim. People say Bill Clinton is
Loan servicing, which many mortgage 2002. Commissioners went to Watkins. Then perhaps the greatest politician of all
brokers didn’t bother with, was another “I’m very proud that during ’50s and after he died, the post went to Gates. time, and he’s a good friend of mine, but
niche to be seized. ’60s we were one of very first that would Observers saw Nutter’s fingerprints all I think Jim Nutter would give him a run
“We collect them and get a small fee for his money.”
and that small fee is very good when you ❚ ❚ ❚
have a lot of them — $5 or $20 per It’s a hot morning, and Jim and Anna-
month times thousands. And if I’m bel Nutter are having breakfast. A large
servicing the loan, I have a five times bouquet of flowers is in the middle of
greater chance of refinancing it than my the table, an anniversary gift from Jim to
competitors do,” he says, because that his wife of 58 years.
deepens customer loyalty. “We have lots Annabel, in a pink robe, pink slippers
of cases where we have made mortgage and neatly coiffed honey-colored hair,
loans to three generations of a family.” leans over and gives her husband a kiss
❚ ❚ ❚ on the lips.
Here’s another way to build loyalty. Celebration plans? Jim Nutter replies,
In 1964, foreclosure rates were rising. “Well, 58 is not 8. But we’ll step out
Nutter’s company created a forbearance Saturday night.”
program to help borrowers behind on He met Annabel Fisher, who lived in a
their house payments. big house off Ward Parkway, on a blind
“If somebody owed three or four date and married her within a year.
months, we put it aside just like it wasn’t Nutter says his mother knew he was
there, and after about six months the serious about Annabel when he invited
homeowner would start digging into her to dinner after about six months,
that little pile that he hadn’t paid,” Nut- which was not his custom with dates.
ter says. “The deal always was, the girl was
President Lyndon B. Johnson sent supposed to have eaten before I picked
Federal Housing Administration offi- her up,” he says. He says he decided to
cials to Nutter’s office to study the suc- marry her when the 5-foot-2-inch pixie
cess of his system. Nutter greets Marilyn May, executive director of the Nutter polished off the house’s largest steak.
“We kept a lot of people in their Ivanhoe Neighborhood Center at 37th Street and Woodland “I wasn’t a bad catch, but I wasn’t
homes. If you give people a chance, they Avenue. Nutter put up most of the money to buy and rehab the great, either. I was an average catch,”
want to prove they are good for it,” former 100-year-old firehouse and build a park next door. Nutter says.
Nutter says. “He was a very good catch,” Annabel
Nutter estimates his company current- counters. “I knew right away he was the
ly holds 20,000 mortgages in Kansas one, and my parents adored him.”
City alone and has made 60,000 over the give loans to minorities. That doesn’t over the appointments. The Nutters’ first child, Nancy, was
years. sound like a lot now, but at that time that Asked about the current inhabitant of born in 1955. In 1956 they bought a
You’d think the old tortoise might be took a lot of guts.” City Hall’s 29th floor, Sly James, he says, house in south Kansas City, and in 1959
ready to slow down, but Nutter keeps Robert Newsome has known Nutter “I think he’s doing a good job so far.” He their son was born.
growing his company’s worth. What for 45 years. The African-American didn’t back James, either, in the primary In 1962, Nutter spotted a 2,500-square-
drives him? Simple, he says. Realtor got his start as an appraiser. or general. That surprised no one, con- foot, ranch-style house on Ward Park-
“That’s how you keep score.” Nutter sent him everywhere, including sidering the light government experi- way that he liked. In his patient fashion
❚ ❚ ❚ Mission Hills and Leawood, Newsome ence of James and Nutter’s many ties to he negotiated with the owner, a lawyer,
Has any one white man done more for remembers. the opponents. for three months before settling on a
the black man in this town? “Back then, some companies would It was a different story for Cleaver in price.
Sebree remembers his friend as al- only let me do appraisals in African- 1991, when the black minister and coun- They still live there. Never redid the
ways having a keen sense of right and American neighborhoods, but Jim said, cilman, having decided to run for mayor, bathrooms or the kitchen, either, al-
wrong and never exhibiting the perva- ‘We’re not having that.’ ” was urged by friends to go see Nutter. though no expense is spared on exterior
sive racial prejudice of the ’40 and ’50s. Nutter also dissolved color barriers in “I thought, ‘He’s not going to support paint and roofing. The yellow plastic
Hearing white people use the worst the 1970s with his company-owned me,’ ” Cleaver recalls. “But I went in, and phone in the kitchen looks straight out
slur against African-Americans angered apartments, including the Village Green we talked, and he said, ‘How much mon- of “That ’70s Show.” The last car Nutter
Nutter. “My father wasn’t like that. He at 47th Street and the Paseo. ey do you have?’ bought was a 1996 Buick Park Avenue.
never used that word. He was a real “He bought them and said, ‘These “And I said, ‘A dollar ninety-eight.’ He “I just stick to things,” he says, as he
10 THE KANSAS CITY STAR MAGAZINE ★ August 19, 2012
cover story
|
Nutter and Angel Salceda (right) chat with Jackson County Sheriff Mike Sharp and others at M&M Bakery at 31st Street and Woodland Avenue.
lifts a forkful of sausage. plication from diabetes. He and she are an awful lot alike,” Anna- story homes.
Two dogs lurk around the table. Lucy, That is just the most recent in a wave bel says. In the late 1980s and early 1990s,
a Lab-golden mix, was adopted from of health problems he weathered in the Home for summer from the Universi- Nutter’s company bought 46 houses,
Wayside Waifs, one of Nutter’s favorite last 10 years: heart bypass surgery, colon ty of Vermont, Russ grins and fishes for most decaying, many burned out, and
charities. Benny, a Lhasa Apso, belongs cancer and bladder cancer. a round of faithful laughter. “I keep them had them demolished.
to Maria Gonzalez, who prepares break- “You just push through and keep young. I keep their adrenaline going.” Nutter then lined up home builders
fast and dinner for the Nutters during going,” he says. Russ is painting houses in Nutterville with inner-city experience who met his
the week. Grunt, grunt, grunt. for his grandfather, who proudly reports, standards and gave them the cleared lots
Sipping coffee in the doorway just The dogs perk up when 19-year-old “He shows up on time and works all and $2,000 in start-up money.
behind the table is Angel Salceda, Nut- Russ Moore strides into the room, look- day.” At the time the city offered a “soft
ter’s around-the-clock caregiver, who he ing sleepy-headed but cheerful. ❚ ❚ ❚ second” mortgage, letting home buyers
often introduces as, “My friend, Angel.” Moore is the Nutters’ grandson, but “That’s one of ours. And that one. And borrow $10,000 for closing costs for the
Nutter is driven to the office where he they have raised him since their daugh- that one.” new houses.
still works every day. Salceda also helps ter died of breast cancer in 2003. The As Salceda’s black Cadillac cruises The builders made between $8,000
Nutter into and out of the wheelchair. two say Russ feels more like a son to slowly south on the Paseo between 45th and $10,000 profit per house, Nutter
Eighteen months ago, Nutter’s right leg them than a grandson. Street and Linwood Boulevard, Nutter says.
was amputated below the knee, a com- “It’s a little like having Nancy around. jabs his finger at neatly painted two- James B. Nutter & Co.? It was out
THE KANSAS CITY STAR MAGAZINE ★ August 19, 2012 11
Caregiver Angel Salceda helps Nutter get in and out of his wheelchair and drives him to work every day. Nutter lives in the
same 2,500-square-foot ranch-style house he and his wife bought in 1962.
more than $300,000. he was tickled when Tom Hanks played Fifteen years ago, Nutter saw a picture hind it to the east were owned by single
“I wanted to make Paseo beautiful “Chopsticks” in the movie “Big.” in The Star of 10-year-old Alana walking women, mostly widows. Over the years,
again,” the old man says. More important, Nutter set up an hand in hand with her father during a Nutter acquired them. One by one.
Since 2000, his company has made endowment to maintain the park — one residents’ show of solidarity against “I took care of the little old ladies
$10.8 million in charitable contributions. of those unsexy donations that are hard- drug dealers. before they died, sometimes for a year
He personally has given away $2.5 mil- est to come by in the fundraising world. After Nutter worked his magic on the or two, sometimes for 15 or 20 years. I
lion. And that’s only the large donations. Gorman recalls Carnahan asking her old firehouse and the center opened in swept their sidewalks, I fixed their roofs,
On a corner of his desk, the pile of in the 1990s to nominate Nutter to the 2006, crime dropped and the number of I patched their siding.”
printouts lists gifts of $100-$1,000 for Academy of Missouri Squires, a group drug houses also has fallen sharply. Now No contracts, not even a handshake.
the same period, 10 or 12 to a page. The that honors “true greatness” in the com- communities around town are trying to He just told the women that if they or
stack is 3 inches thick. munity. copy the formula. their heirs ever wanted to sell the hous-
The biggest beneficiaries of his lar- Gorman was shocked that he wasn’t “My father always taught me that if es, they’d get a fair price.
gesse have been the University of Mis- already a squire. you do things the right way eventually Adam Krugh, managing broker of
souri-Kansas City, Truman Library, “He kind of operates by himself. As a good things will happen,” says Nutter’s Vista Commercial Real Estate in Prairie
Children’s Mercy Hospital and the Mayo result, he should have been in ages ago, son. “He’s always said that when he goes Village, has handled the leasing of the
Clinic. The two closest to his heart are but wasn’t,” she says. “I fixed that.” to bed at night he sleeps really well. I Nutterville properties for 15 years.
the Salvation Army and Little Sisters of Neither, she adds, has Nutter been think it’s because he’s just trying to do “There are not many real estate own-
the Poor. named Kansas Citian of the Year. “And his best every day.” ers that would spend 40 years acquiring
Nutter serves and has served on the it’s crazy. I need to work on that.” ❚ ❚ ❚ run-down buildings, dolling them up
boards of dozens of public and private When the Caddy pulls up outside the Last stop, Nutterville! with bright colors and lots of landscap-
institutions. He sponsors whole tables at Ivanhoe Community Center at 37th If you’ve ever driven past the historic ing and turning them into functional
fundraising galas, but rarely attends Street and Woodland Avenue, several Nathan Scarritt house at 4038 Baltimore office spaces,” Krugh says. “He sees
them. women rush out the front door onto the Ave. in Westport and noticed the mod- long-term value, not quick turnaround.”
He prefers hanging out at lunch count- broiling sidewalk to greet Nutter. est, brightly colored Victorians that Speaking of long term, there was just
ers and bakeries on the city’s East Side Inside, he grabs the hand of a young stretch for a couple of blocks around it, one house left in the Nutterville area
or holding court over a $1.50 hot dog at black woman and says, “This is the then you’ve been to Nutterville. that had not fallen into Nutter’s hands
Costco, where area residents know they young lady who was in the paper! I can The houses, with their manicured during the last 49 years. Then, plop, he
can find him around 12:30 p.m. most still recognize you.” lawns and elaborate flower beds, look got it this year.
Saturdays. The young lady is Alana Young, who like single-family homes, but they’ve Grunt, grunt, grunt.
A park at Children’s Mercy Hospital is employed in Fort Worth by Teach for been converted to offices for small out- Reach Cindy Hoedel at
that Nutter paid for entirely doesn’t bear America. But she’s home from Texas to fits: accountants, designers, hair stylists. choedel@kcstar.com. Follow her on
his name. It features one of those giant help staff summer programs at the cen- When Nutter bought his current office Facebook, or on Twitter @cindyhoedel.
keyboards you play with your feet. Yes, ter. building on Broadway, the houses be-
12 THE KANSAS CITY STAR MAGAZINE ★ August 19, 2012
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