CitySceneKC
With Building Restrooms Closed, Downtown Council Organizes Relief for Homeless
By Kevin Collison With so many downtown private and public building restrooms closed because of the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s practically impossible for homeless people to find a place to relieve themselves with dignity. That’s why the Downtown Council, along with the City Parks, Public Works and Housing Departments and the Streetcar Authority, have opened 20…
New Fundraiser Launched to Help Hard-Hit Restaurant, Bar Workers
The organizers of Curbside KC have added a new item to their menu for helping restaurant and other hospitality workers hit hard by the business restrictions forced by the Covid-19 crisis. Kansas City Runs on Hospitality is a fundraising effort that hopes to raise $100,000 to help out-of-work and/or underemployed restaurant and bar workers by…
Developers Leave the Light On for Downtown Hotel Projects
(Editor’s note May 15: The City Council unanimously approved revisions to the incentive package for the redevelopment of the historic KC Federal Reserve Bank building into a 301-room Embassy Suites hotel at its meeting Thursday.) By Kevin Collison Even though the local and national hospitality industry is being hammered by the Covid-19 pandemic, developers pursuing…
Consultant Recommends City Close Barney Allis Garage ‘Immediately’
By Kevin Collison A new engineering report is recommending the Barney Allis Plaza garage be immediately closed along with the Plaza above, ratcheting the pressure as the City Council explores alternatives to rebuild the aging civic asset While the report prepared by TranSystems, a city consultant, found no “immediate structural integrity issues” in the underground…
Key East Crossroads Corner Paved for Brewery Parking, Other Uses
By Kevin Collison After decades of scraggly existence, the northwest corner of 18th and Locust has been transformed into a 225-space controlled and paved public parking lot in the heart of the burgeoning food and microbrewery scene in the East Crossroads. What’s being called Brewers Alley Parking opened about a month ago, but its arrival…
Downtown Area Makers Take on Covid-Related Mask Projects
By Kevin Collison During much of the 20th Century, Kansas City was one of the nation’s largest garment-manufacturing centers, with many firms located in what’s now the downtown Historic Garment District That spirit is continuing strong during the Covid-19 crisis as downtown area businesses and organizations including Rightfully Sewn, Sandlot, Madison Flitch and MEDiAHEAD! pivot…
MEDiAHEAD! Switches to Fun-Time Production During Covid Crisis
By Kevin Collison Being stuck at home with kids looking for something fun to do during the Covid-19 crisis can try the patience of any parent. Worrying about keeping your print shop workers busy and employed during the current economic slowdown caused by the virus is exasperating too. Kathryn “Kat” McDaniel, president of MEDiAHEAD!, has…
Streetcar Expansion Steams Ahead in D.C. and City Hall, Big Local Firms On Board
(Editor’s note: The City Council approved the $4.7 million and $2.7 million contracts to continue designing and planning the proposed streetcar extension at its meeting April 16) By Kevin Collison Streetcar officials are confident their funding application for the Main Street extension remains on track in Washington despite the federal government’s record $2 trillion emergency…
East Crossroads Corner Being Rebuilt, Deli and Bar Planned
By Kevin Collison A building that collapsed at the corner of 18th and Locust in the East Crossroads in October 2018 is being replaced with a new structure that is expected to house a bar and delicatessen. It’s being built by Matt Abbott, a developer and entrepreneur with extensive property holdings in the Crossroads. Abbott…
Guest Commentary: Turning Toward Greatness, Before We Get to Detroit
(Editor’s note: This presentation that’s been making the rounds of local civic groups recently offers a strong public policy and economic case for continuing to reinvest in our urban core, the so-called River-Crown-Plaza corridor, and nearby neighborhoods.) By Dennis Strait, managing principal, Gould Evans Communities across the country face a fundamental problem: we’ve built cities…