CitySceneKC
KC Folk Festival Sunday To Be Free ‘Peoples’ Fest’
Downtown is the center of world folk music this weekend with a major conference of the Folk Alliance International at the Westin Crown Center and a free, public music festival Sunday (May 22, 2022) at Washington Square Park. The city has been home to the Folk Alliance since 2013 and several conferences attracting hundreds of…
Stalled Ashland Project Purchased, Work Expected to Resume This Year
By Kevin Collison The long-stalled Ashland on Third apartment development in the River Market has been purchased by a Minneapolis firm that’s expected to tweak the design and resume construction possibly by the end of this year. Oaks Properties has bought the project from KC Commercial Realty Group. KC Commercial began work on what was…
Developer Tackles Historic Building for $120M Affordable Housing Project
By Kevin Collison Fresh from building a super-green apartment complex from scratch, developer Jonathan Arnold is tackling a very different project, renovating a massive, century-old building into affordable housing. Arnold wants to convert the historic National Cloak and Suit Company building at 5401 Independence Ave. into 352 apartments at an estimated cost of $120 million….
Lux Living Riverfront Project in ‘Limbo’ After Port KC Board Balks at Vote
By Kevin Collison A $56 million riverfront apartment proposal that would have been the first to meet the city’s affordable housing goal is now in “limbo” after the Port KC board failed to vote on it Monday. The plan by Lux Living of St. Louis for a 250-unit apartment development was seeking a 25 year…
Legislature Approves $40M for Latest UMKC Hospital Hill Project
By Kevin Collison UMKC is pursuing an $100 million healthcare education building at Hospital Hill, the latest proposed investment in an area of greater downtown that’s attracted more than a half billion dollars in new construction in recent years. Last week, the Missouri General Assembly authorized $40 million for a proposed building that would house…
A (Shade) Tree Grows in Crossroads
By Kevin Collison The Crossroads Community Association wants to grow its way out of being downtown’s hottest neighborhood–literally–by planting dozens of street trees to provide more shade. “The goal is to make a meaningful dent in the tree canopy coverage in the near term,” said David Johnson, a CCA board member. “We plan to fill…
Entertainment Plan for West Bottoms Railroad Bridge Picks Up Steam
By Kevin Collison Michael Zeller’s quest to convert an old West Bottoms railroad bridge into an entertainment district over the Kaw River is picking up steam, with construction plans now in place and backing from key local philanthropic foundations. “I think it’s going very well and the prospects are good, that’s why I’m interested,” said…
Decorative Lighting Store Taking Former Gojo Space in Westport
By Kevin Collison Circa Lighting, a decorative lighting and ceiling fan retail store founded in Savannah, Georgia, will be occupying the former Gojo Japaneses Steak House space on Broadway near Westport. The steak house closed because of Covid in November 2020 after operating more than 40 years in the building at 4163 Broadway. It’s now…
After Some Sleuthing, Port KC Committee Endorses Riverfront Apartment Plan
By Kevin Collison A proposed 250-unit apartment riverfront project was endorsed for a 25-year property tax abatement Monday by a Port KC committee, but only after a little sleuthing in St. Louis by top officials at the agency. Lux Living wants to build the $56 million project that would be the first to meet the…
Keystone Initiative Lands First Home in East Crossroads
By Kevin Collison Keystone Community Corp. has landed its first space in the area where it wants to create a downtown innovation campus, sharing quarters in the Goodwill administrative office at 800 E. 18th St. The new location for what’s called CoLAB marks a milestone in the Keystone endeavor launched several years ago by the…