CitySceneKC
After Seven Years, CityScene KC Bids Adieu
Dear Readers, CityScene KC is shutting down at the end of this week after serving you since November 2016. It’s been a labor of love reporting and writing about the revitalization of greater downtown Kansas City and its urban core, first as a development reporter at The Kansas City Star beginning in 2001, and then…
Lux Downtown Tower Deal Nixed, New Buyer Sought for Land
By Kevin Collison Lux Living’s proposed high-rise hotel and apartment proposal at 14th and Wyandotte has collapsed after the property’s California owner stopped extending its development agreement in order to seek a new buyer. The almost $200 million development proposed by the St. Louis developer next door to the historic Power & Light Building had…
Mayor: Likely Plaza Owners Want Housing, Better Security and Diverse Retail
By Kevin Collison The prospective new owners of the Country Club Plaza envision adding housing, an upscale hotel, diverse retailers and better security as part of their formula for returning the area to its glory days, according to Mayor Quinton Lucas. Lucas and top city officials traveled to Dallas Tuesday to meet with Ray Washburne…
Big Third and Grand Apartment Project On Track for Late Winter Start
By Kevin Collison Work is expected to begin by late winter on a 246-unit apartment project located on a public parking lot at Third and Grand, a site that’s been targeted by the KCATA for development since 2015. Bill Crandall of CBC Real Estate Group, a partner in the $60 million venture, described the project…
Hoppy New Beer Combination in East Crossroads
The East Crossroads microbrewery scene is experiencing its first merger with Red Sash Brewing acquiring Double Shift. Red Sash, which opened in 2020 at 406 E. 18th St., is owned by Pat Mitchell, a retired U.S. Army captain, and Ryan Elder of Facility Systems. Mitchell’s mission was to start a place that catered to military…
Development Humming at 18th & Vine with New Apartments, Other Projects
By Kevin Collison The 18th and Vine Jazz District has received a double dose of good news recently with the opening of the $25 million One Nine Vine apartment project and the award of tax credits critical to another project that would revitalize a strategic block. The 80-unit One Nine Vine is located at the…
Higher Cost Estimates Pause UMKC Arena Proposal at 51st and Brookside
By Kevin Collison UMKC’s proposal for a 5,000-seat arena at a campus site by the south terminus of the Main Street streetcar extension has been paused until spring because of higher than anticipated costs. Officials said responses came in higher than expected based on the specifications in a request for proposals (RFP) issued last spring…
Historic ‘Castle’ Back on Market Near 18th and Vine
By Kevin Collison A plan to renovate the historic City Workhouse Castle into a boutique hotel has fallen through and it’s now part of a 20-acre group of properties that’s on the market near the 18th & Vine Jazz District. “There are few sites that close to downtown with that kind of land assembly, it’s…
Green Dirt Opening East Crossroads Café, Cheese Shop in February
By Kevin Collison Green Dirt Farm has set an opening date for its new venue in the East Crossroads and is promising a restaurant and cheese shop that should “reimagine the culinary landscape of Kansas City.” The new Green Dirt on Oak is scheduled to open at 1601 Oak St. this February. It will include…
Concern Chiefs May Bolt to Kansas Prompts County Town Hall Meeting
By Kevin Collison Alarmed that the glacial pace of pro sports negotiations may prompt the Chiefs to pursue a suburban Kansas option, Jackson County Legislator Manny Abarca is hosting a community meeting next week to heat things up. “As chair of the budget committee, if no one is going to do this, the one member…