Downtown Living
City Teaming with KCP&L to Provide Free On-Street Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Downtown
Three new on-street charging stations for electric vehicles are coming online in downtown, an expansion of a program sponsored by Kansas City Power & Light. The first station is operational at the East 9 at Pickwick Plaza apartment development at 933 McGee St. and the other two in the Crossroads District at Broadway and Southwest…
Historic Hotel Bray in Downtown Kansas City to be Redeveloped as Apartments
By Kevin Collison A slender downtown architectural beauty, the historic former Hotel Bray at 1114 Baltimore Ave., is being redeveloped as an apartment project by developer John Bennett Jr. The nine-story building is 25-feet wide and 125 feet deep, and is wedged between the Hotel Phillips and the Italian Garden garage on Baltimore. Bennett plans…
River Market West II Wins Tax Incentive Approval, $23.6 Million Apartment Project
By Kevin Collison The apartment boom in the downtown River Market district got a little louder Thursday with the approval of tax incentives for a 116-unit development at Fifth and Wyandotte streets. The developer of River Market West II was granted a 15-year property tax abatement by the Planned Industrial Expansion Authority. The $23.6 million…
Historic Pickwick Plaza Gets Its Landmark Clock Back Just in Time for Grand Opening
By Kevin Collison The historic Pickwick Plaza in downtown Kansas City is back on the clock–literally–after a $65 million redevelopment project. On Wednesday, workers were reinstalling the eight-foot diameter clock mounted seven stories above McGee Street, one of the final touches before the grand opening Friday of the 260-unit apartment development. “That clock is symbolic…
Bird’s Botanicals Adds Bite to Its Downtown City Market Orchid Lineup, Carnivorous Plants
By Kevin Collison David Bird has been a colorful fixture at the City Market in downtown Kansas City for 15 years, delighting shoppers on Saturday mornings with beautiful orchids grown in his operation in a limestone cave. But despite their myriad shapes and colors, people gradually began to lose interest in his orchids and sales…
ARTerra Apartment Project Underway in Downtown Freight House District; Development First Proposed 10 Years Ago
By Kevin Collison The 12-story ARTerra apartment project in the heart of the Freight House District is officially underway, 10 years after it was first proposed. The 126-unit luxury project is being developed at 2100 Wyandotte St. by a partnership between Copaken Brooks of Kansas City and Altus Properties of St. Louis. It represents the…
Atlas Apartment Project Revives Historic Berlau Paper Co. Building in Crossroads
By Kevin Collison It had been a long time since Boulevard Brewing President Jeff Krum restored his last building, but he couldn’t resist the Romanesque Revival charms of the 115-year-old former Berlau Paper Co. building at 1509 Walnut St. “It’s an incredibly handsome building,” he said, “and one of the few of that quality and…
Howard’s Adding Groceries and Homegrown Produce to Its Crossroads Menu
By Kevin Collison Howard’s has gained a tasty reputation for its healthy cafe menu since opening in the Crossroads in September 2015, and now is expanding to become a downtown neighborhood source for groceries and homegrown produce too. Craig Howard opened his all-things-food place at 1708 Oak St. after the building housing his previous grocery…
New Church of the Resurrection Under Construction in Downtown Kansas City, Opening in Spring 2018
By Kevin Collison Construction has begun on the foundation of the new, $6 million Church of the Resurrection on a parking lot once used by The Kansas City Star, a symbol of both the church’s rapid growth and the burgeoning downtown residential community it serves. The 15,236 square-foot church will accommodate 440 worshipers and is…
Historic New England Building Apartment Redevelopment 40 Percent Leased, Opening Slated For Sept. 1
By Kevin Collison The historic New England building, one of downtown Kansas City’s oldest office structures, has leased 40 percent of its 32 apartments, most of which feature ornate cast-iron fireplaces from the days before central heating. The redevelopment of the 1887 structure at 112 W. Ninth St. is part of a $10 million investment…