KC Life sues to obtain former school

Kansas City Life Insurance Co. says it’s been wrongly denied the opportunity to buy a former school near its midtown headquarters.

In a lawsuit filed against the Kansas City, Missouri, School District last month, Kansas City Life says it bid $1.425 million for the Norman Center School at 35th and Jefferson only to lose out to a condo developer who bid $5,000 less.

In 2007, the district hired Block & Co. realtors to market and sell some of its unneeded buildings. The suit states that the Norman Center School was offered at auction on November 6, with Kansas City Life submitting the highest bid. Kansas City Life says the school district and its real-estate arm then created a political process for awarding the contract.