The 'temporary' town terrorized by Big Tech: Long-forgotten WWII-era city with run down bordered up shacks sits in the shadow of huge $4B plant - as locals reveal their fears for the future

A once bustling Kansas community, designed as a temporary home to hundreds of WWII munitions workers, has fallen on disrepair in recent years. 

Now, it has a new threat, a $4billion 21st Century plant in its backyard. 

The tiny hamlet of 500 people in Clearview Village sits across the street from a Panasonic Electric Vehicle Battery facility set to open in 2025. The massive plant outside De Soto, Kansas, threatens their one-thriving community even more. 

Residents say despite assurances from the village's current owner, they fear their homes could be flattened to make way for parking lots or future development in support of the plant. 

'It's a gold mine,' resident Ron Buerman, 28, told the Kansas City Star. 'Basically, what I think they're going to do is either this will be a damn parking lot for Panasonic, or apartments.' 

Clearwater Village, a neighborhood in De Soto, Kansas is under a new threat - a new $4billion Panasonic plant that is under construction

The Village, which was once its own city, opened in 1943 but has declined in recent years as homes struggled with upkeep

Now, residents of the village fear the plant under construction (pictured) could prove further threat to their home

An artist's rendering of the plant when it finishes construction in 2025

He points to the village's ongoing state of deterioration as evidence of the owner David Rhodes' plans to sell up or redevelop the land himself.

'I mean that one's vacant. That one's got a hole in it. That's one vacant,' he said pointing at the homes.

 'People now, they're like, "Oh, well, this is the end of it." They're trying to stay here and kind of squat here as long as possible. People are like, "Look, if we're not going to be here any longer, why am I going to pay rent?"'

The Panasonic plant is currently under construction at the site of the former ordnance factory that first drew people to the area in the days of World War II. 

Launched as 'Sunflower Village' in 1943, the settlement provided accommodation to workers of the nearby Sunflower Ordnance Works which became the largest smokeless powder and propellant plant in the wake of Pearl Harbor.

The initial build was composed of 175 concrete buildings housing 852 apartments and was orchestrated by the federal government.

Wartime restrictions meant the homes were sparse, with basic finishes including cabinets with no doors and iceboxes without metal.

Launched as 'Sunflower Village' in 1943, the settlement provided accommodation to workers of the nearby Sunflower Ordnance Works which became the largest smokeless powder and propellant plant in the wake of Pearl Harbor

The initial build was composed of 175 concrete buildings housing 852 apartments and was orchestrated by the federal government

The lot boasted two ponds and victory gardens to allow residents to grow their own fruit and vegetables amid the strict rationing.  The offering proved tempting and at its peak, Sunflower Village housed more than 6,000 people.

With the arrival of more and more residents came the introduction of the village's bar, restaurant, grocery store, beauty parlor, barber shop and more.

As demand surged, the government was forced to ferry in a further 680 prefabricated wooden structures from Niagara Falls, New York, which soon wore out.

After WWII, the village housed returning veterans and Kansas University students.

The ordnance factory enjoyed a resurgence during the Korean War, before the end of the conflict saw employment rates slump. As the factory wound up its operations, more and more locals departed and the settlement was sold to its first private buyer.

At the time, all but nine homes in the once-vibrant village had been boarded up.

Oklahoma developer Louis H. Ensley pledged to make the town habitable again, hoping to lure prospective tenants with cheap rent.

After WWII, the village housed returning veterans and Kansas University students

The village saw a brief resurgence during the Korean War, but residents fled the area in the years that followed thanks to rising crime

But the village was soon marred by soaring crime rates that meant that many of its 1,800 occupants soon left once again.

Over the years, the village changed hands numerous times and was the subject of a huge cleanup operation after the ordnance factory shut its doors in 1992. 

Today, Clearview is home to long-time tenants and families who enjoy cheap rent. 

A one-bedroom property costs around $760 per month rent, while two beds fetch around $1,050. 

Omar Bonilla, 42, told the KC Star that his two-bedroom home, which he shares with his wife and three children has recently been rocked by construction at the Panasonic facility, sending cracks through his property.

 'When they did that, the whole house began to shake, he said. His wife Marbella added they are now 'getting a lot of bugs inside the house.'

For his part, Rhodes acknowledges the sorry state of many of the properties on his land but has insisted he has plans to 'rehab' his tenants homes.

'We put this on the National Register of Historic Places,' he said. 'And the purpose is to preserve it, and rehab it. Our desire — if we can get the assistance of the state of Kansas and the city of De Soto — will be to do a major rehab.'

Over the years, the village changed hands numerous times and was the subject of a huge cleanup operation after an ordnance factory shut its doors in 1992

 Residents say despite assurances from the village's current owner, they fear their homes could be flattened to make way for parking lots or future development in support of the plant

Omar Bonilla, 42, told the KC Star that his two-bedroom home, which he shares with his wife and three children has recently been rocked by construction at the Panasonic facility, sending cracks through his property

The Panasonic plant is currently under construction at the site of the former ordnance factory

The plant is being built outside De Soto, Kansas

He plans to move gradually move tenants from their old apartments into newly refurbished units.

Leaders of De Soto, which annexed Clearview into a neighborhood in 1998, also want to see improvements at the village

Rhodes says he hopes to begin his development project at the site in 2025 with an emphasis on affordable housing as opposed to more industrial buildings to support the Panasonic plant. 

'We've attempted to be a conscientious landlord,' he said. 'It does not have curb appeal. But when you get inside — for the amount of square footage you have, and the price you pay for rent — it is very affordable. 

'The desire is to make the outside as good as the inside.'