News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
National Developer Proposes Big Apartment Project in Crossroads
By Kevin Collison A $95 million development that would replace a Freight House District parking lot with a nine-story apartment tower above a three-level garage is being pursued by Greystar, the nation’s largest apartment operator. The 250-unit “Tracks 215” project is proposed for a 1.1-acre lot west of the historic Freight House building, where Lidia’s…
Plaza Hotel Proposal Revived, Seven-Story Project at 46th and Wornall
UPDATED May 7, 2019 (Editor’s note: The City Plan Commission unanimously endorsed the Plaza Hotel redevelopment plan Wednesday, which also was supported by Historic KC and neighborhood groups The project will include two separate hotel flags, an Aloft and a Tribute Portfolio, within the Marriott brand. The project previously has been approved for a Community…
A Q&A with Rockhurst University’s Chief Inclusion Officer
Get to know a Rockhurst’s first-ever Chief Inclusion Officer, Leslie Doyle.
Blade & Timber Flipping from West Bottoms to Power & Light District
Blade & Timber is throwing its axe from the West Bottoms and burying it in the Power & Light District with plans to relocate to 13th and Baltimore by late summer. The popular axe-throwing hangout that opened its first location in 2017 at 1101 Mulberry St. has been lured to space formerly occupied by Kobe, a…
Loews Exec Says Unfinished Hotel Bringing Fresh Business to Downtown
By Kevin Collison A top Loews executive attending the topping off of his firm’s 24-story convention hotel project Wednesday said its bringing fresh business to Kansas City, downplaying concerns about filling a surge in new downtown hotel rooms. Alexander Tisch, executive vice president of Loews Hotels & Co., said he was familiar with the recent…
Kansas City No Violence Alliance Reboots
As mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, Sly James has grown accustomed to phone calls from the police chief about yet another homicide. Sometimes James goes to the scene, and the details of one, from a Sunday morning, are seared into his memory. A wailing mother, still in her nightgown, was kneeling in the middle of…
Bar + Rec Plans Lively Entertainment Center in Old KC Star Building
By Kevin Collison Bar + Rec, the first tenant announced for the ongoing redevelopment of the old Kansas City Star building, has a year-old pile of sand and months of work ahead before its planned opening at year’s end. Partners Mark Musselman and Luke Wade continue to push forward with their ambitious plan to create…
Reducing Kansas City’s Violent Crime
This time, Danelle Williams and Vito Mazzara arrived prepared. The two Kansas City, Missouri, police officers didn’t want to be overwhelmed, like a previous evening last winter, when passersby at 35th Street and Prospect Avenue snapped up their inventory in less than 15 minutes. On this evening, Williams and Mazzara stationed themselves on a corner…
Thou Mayest Returns, Buys Quay Coffee and Plans New Concept
By Kevin Collison Thou Mayest, the popular East Crossroads establishment that shut down in December, is returning downtown, but with a new game plan. The coffee shop, roaster and cultivator of creative thinking is opening an outlet called “Thee Outpost” next month inside a building housing a new “creative collaboration space” called Collective Ex at…
Construction Trades Offer Solid Careers Right Out Of High School
With thousands of skilled-trade workers retiring every day across the nation, the construction industry is in need of the next generation workforce to help build Kansas City and communities throughout the country. And those are good-paying jobs that are available to people straight out of high school. It will take some grit for folks willing…