CitySceneKC
Taco Bell Cantina Ringing Soon in Westport
Taco Bell’s spiced up “Cantina” concept is coming to Westport, which means you’ll be able to have a beer with your bean burrito and, if turns out to be like the one in Nashville, listen to live music. Work is underway for a 2,500 square-foot Taco Bell Cantina at the southeast corner of Broadway and…
St. Louis Gets First Urban Target, Can KC Be Far Behind?
By Kevin Collison The announcement last week Target plans to open one of its smaller urban stores as part of a midtown St. Louis development has prompted renewed speculation about when the chain plans something similar here. Perhaps as early as next year, according to real estate sources, although exactly where in Kansas City’s “River-Crown-Plaza”…
Kaw Makeover Including New Park, Bike Trails, Opening Next October
By Kevin Collison After decades of being a scraggly backwater, the Kaw River in the West Bottoms will be transformed with a new park and bicycle trail a year from now following action by the Unified Government of Wyandotte County. The UG commissioners approved an agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers earlier this…
Historic Oglesby Hotel Being Restored as Affordable Housing on Troost
By Kevin Collison The historic Oglesby Hotel near 39th and Troost is being preserved and renovated as an affordable apartment project thanks to its good neighbor, St. James Catholic Church. The 130 year-old, Queen Anne-style mansion will find new life providing 25, one-bedroom apartments renting for $650 per month. Eight units will be eligible for…
Riverfront Soccer Stadium Planned, Includes ‘Massive’ Bar Overlooking Water
By Kevin Collison A $70 million, privately-funded women’s professional soccer stadium planned for the riverfront should spur more intensive residential development and quicken the pace of streetcar expansion. “I view this more as a gem you build the verticality around,” said Jon Stephens, Port KC president and CEO. “We’re still committed to millions of square feet…
Building at 17th and Washington Slated to Become Foodie Destination
(Editor’s note: CityScene is taking some time off for a vacation, this article originally appeared on July 28.) By Kevin Collison The former Screenland property at 17th and Washington is about to become a foodie oasis, its parking lot replaced with a landscaped courtyard and stage, and the surrounding level hosting a restaurant, bar and…
Chartreuse Saloon Swings Open in East Crossroads
By Kevin Collison For a small town Nebraska native, Jill Cockson has a gift for creating sophisticated city watering holes, her latest being the Chartreuse Saloon at the corner of 17th and Oak in the East Crossroads. “My inspiration is drawn from the history of the saloon culture,” she said. “The old saloon culture brought…
City Affordable Housing Policy Criticized at Industry Apartment Summit
By Kevin Collison The affordable housing mandate approved by the City Council earlier this year has slowed project applications to a trickle despite robust growth in the overall metropolitan apartment industry, real estate professionals said Thursday. “In Kansas City, there are headwinds,” Jeff Stingley of CBRE told the audience attending the 2021 Kansas City Apartment…
Revised Jamestown Square Plan Spares Building Tied to Truman
By Kevin Collison Harry Truman can relax, a small residential building in the Volker neighborhood he invested in briefly 100 years ago is safe now that developers of the proposed Jamestown Square apartment project have found a way to work around it. At a recent virtual briefing to the Volker Neighborhood Association, a representative of…
Gillham Bike Path Nears Completion from Cleaver to Crossroads
By Kevin Collison After years of coasting when it comes to shielding cyclists, the city is racing to finish its longest protected bike path to date, a 3 1/2 mile, north-south route along Gillham Road from near Cleaver Boulevard to the East Crossroads. The completion of the Gillham route, already the city’s longest protected bike…