CitySceneKC
Development Agency Ignores City Hall, Rejects $62M River Market Apartment Plan
By Kevin Collison A $62 million River Market apartment project backed by City Hall had its incentive request rejected by the PIEA board Thursday, another casualty of what critics say has become an increasingly chilly development climate in Kansas City. The 246-unit development was proposed three years ago for a public parking lot northeast of…
City Manager Brian Platt Talks About Potential Railroad HQ Expansion, Police
By Kevin Collison City Manager Brian Platt continues his conversation with CityScene KC covering topics including a potential expansion by Kansas City Southern once its merger with Canadian Pacific is concluded, the Buck O’Neil Bridge linear park concept and the police department. Word is Kansas City Southern may expand its downtown presence following its merger…
City Manager Brian Platt Q & A: ‘Good Progress’ on Decking South Loop
By Kevin Collison City Manager Brian Platt has been on the job 16 months since coming here from Jersey City in December 2020. He recently sat down with CityScene KC at the Rochester Brewing and Coffee in the West Crossroads to talk about greater downtown and other topics including the Kansas City Police Department and…
One Nine Vine Apartment Project Breaks Ground This Week
The first phase of the One Nine Vine development, a six-story apartment building with ground floor retail, is scheduled to break ground Wednesday in the 18th and Vine Jazz District. The $25 million project planned for what’s now a vacant lot at the southeast corner of 19th and Vine will include 80 affordable and market-rate…
BOK Financial Building New Crossroads Offices at 17th and Grand
By Kevin Collison BOK Financial has purchased part of the Grand Place redevelopment site near 17th and Grand in the Crossroads and plans to build a 10,000 square-foot branch bank there. The $4- to $5 million bank project is the first sign of progress in about two years on a major redevelopment plan focused on…
Westport High School Apartment Redevelopment Underway
By Kevin Collison Work has begun on the $52.2 million renovation of the historic Westport High School building into a 138-unit residential project called The Apartments at Westport Commons. The renovation of the 112 year-old former high school into apartments was first proposed in October 2020 by the same development team behind the restoration of…
New Atlanta Ballpark Considered Model for Royals Coming Downtown
By Kevin Collison If you’re curious about the game plan for a potential Royals downtown ballpark, the new home of the Atlanta Braves may offer some inside baseball. Truist Field and its adjoining “The Battery Atlanta” mixed-use development were cited several times by experts discussing the “Future of Sports Facilities” at an event last week…
Lula Owner Gets Best 40th Birthday Gift
By Kevin Collison Brad Gilmore celebrated his 40th birthday last week with the gift he always wanted, the opportunity to run his own restaurant. The co-founder of Lula Southern Cookhouse at 1617 Main had been temporarily leasing the former Nara space since November until his dream to create a culinary home for true Southern cooking…
Cocina47 Plaza Zoning Controversy Grows—Six Stories
By Kevin Collison An already heated zoning dispute over the height of what originally was a three-story restaurant proposal by the Plaza has taken a surprise twist with the developer now pursuing a nine-story project there. Drake Development has submitted plans to the city for a “Cocina47” development that would build six floors of residential…
Zaina Brings Mediterranean Cuisine to Crown Center Shops
Zaina has opened on the ground level of Crown Center Shops and the co-owner of the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern restaurant believes the new location should generate more traffic than its previous home on Grand. “With all the exposure here, we think we’ll do better business and we also do a lot of business online,”…