CitySceneKC
Downtown Council Seeks Federal Grant to Advance South Loop Deck Plan
By Kevin Collison The Downtown Council is applying for a federal grant to continue planning an estimated $160 million South Loop Link that would create a four-block park spanning the busy freeway that divides the central business district from the Crossroads. The application is seeking $2.4 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation that would…
Katz Owner Seeks Demo Permit After Redevelopment Plan Denied
(Updated July 1: The City Council voted 9-2 to reconsider the Katz redevelopment project and send it back to committee at the request of the proposal’s sponsor City Councilwoman Katheryn Shields. Shields said Councilman Eric Bunch, who sponsored the amendment to reduce the proposal’s property tax abatement and add a requirement for affordable housing and…
UMKC Proposing Student Housing, Retail by Planned Streetcar Terminus
By Kevin Collison A new UMKC master plan that calls for developing housing for 500 students along with retail space at the terminus of the planned streetcar route has been approved by the University of Missouri Board of Curators. The proposed development is part of a larger UMKC Master Plan 2021 for the Volker and…
Grand Avenue Temple Closes, Downtown Sanctuary Since 1912
GUEST COMMENTARY By Bryan Cisler After more than 100 years, today (June 27) was the final service for Grand Avenue Temple – a Methodist church in downtown Kansas City at Ninth and Grand Avenue. I wasn’t a member there but I decided to attend the last service. I hung around afterwards and talked to some…
Sinkers Lounge Plans Fall Tee Time in P&L District
By Kevin Collison Sinkers Lounge is finally out of the Covid rough and plans to tee off this fall in the Power & Light District next door to its companion venue, Blade & Timber. The new upscale indoor mini-golf concept had been scheduled to open last summer at 53 W. 13th St. but the pandemic…
Origin KC, New $30M Hotel Planned for Berkley Riverfront
By Kevin Collison A Mississippi hotel developer is in final negotiations with Port KC to open the first hotel on the downtown riverfront, a $30 million project called Origin KC that would be located across from Berkley Park. The Thrash Group of Hattiesburg intends to open the sixth boutique hotel in its Origin group, a…
Shop Local KC Opening Along Streetcar Route in Midtown
By Kevin Collison Katie Mabry van Dieren is bringing Strawberry Swing’s flair for helping makers of all kinds prosper to a permanent location, opening Friday (June 25) at 3630 Main along the planned streetcar route. “This location is amazing,” said van Dieren, founder of Shop Local KC and the Strawberry Swing Indie Craft Fair. “It’ll…
City Hall Routes Streetcar Tax Assessment Down Wrong Track
By Kevin Collison The streetcar financial board plan to inform property owners about the upcoming special tax assessment for the Main Street expansion was derailed recently when thousands of additional letters were mailed in error due to a City Hall screwup. The board wanted to inform property owners who’ll pay the special assessment within the…
Samuel Rodgers Apartment Plan ‘Capstone’ of Paseo Gateway Redevelopment
By Kevin Collison A 62-unit apartment project is in the works for the Samuel D. Rodgers Health Center campus, the final phase of the Paseo Gateway redevelopment initiative that’s added more than 300 residences to the area, many of them affordable. The Samuel Rodgers Health and Wellness Campus project is planned for a five-acre site…
Grand Place, Adaptation of Former Star Building, Expects to Resume Work in September
By Kevin Collison Progress on repurposing the historic Kansas City Star building to become the Grand Place mixed-use development was delayed because of Covid and the project is now expected to welcome its first office tenant late next spring. “We had 14 months of no leasing activity,” said Vince Bryant of 3D Development, adding “we’re…