News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
Friction Beer Getting Hoppy in East Crossroads This Spring
By Kevin Collison The East Crossroads “neigh-brew-hood” will be even hoppier late next spring with the opening of Friction Beer Co. at 1701 McGee. Partners Brent Anderson and Nathan Ryerson hatched their microbrewery plan two years ago while watching soccer in Ryerson’s basement and sharing one of their favorite beers, a hazy IPA from The Brew…
Grading the Soft Skills
It’s the time-honored question from students: when are we going to use this in real life? But as we have seen in this season of Take Note, schools are increasingly focused on the “soft” skills that are relevant for the workplace, such as critical thinking and team work. That brings up another question for the…
Hyatt House Hotel Wins Incentive Approval, Work to Begin This Spring
By Kevin Collison Construction of a 13-story Hyatt House hotel on a parking lot at Ninth and Broadway is expected to begin this spring after its Colorado developer was approved for incentives last week–but not before a two-hour debate by the development agency involved. Boulder-based Pedersen Development won approval for a 15-year property tax break,…
Fox and Pearl Expanding ‘Midwestern Bistro’ Quarters on West Side
By Kevin Collison A 110 year-old building on downtown’s west side that’s seen its share of culinary reincarnations since starting life as a Swedish social hall is slated to become the new home of the Fox and Pearl “Midwestern bistro” this spring. Owners Vaughn Good and his wife Kristine, with the help of the inimitable…
One of Downtown’s Last Big, Empty Historic Buildings Slated for Apartments
By Kevin Collison One of downtown’s last prominent, dormant historic buildings, the 23-story Mark Twain Tower, is slated to be redeveloped as a 202-unit apartment project following approval of incentives Wednesday. The soaring structure at the northwest corner of 11th and Baltimore, which opened in 1923 as the Kansas City Athletic Club, is expected to…
CoCreate KC Caters Co-Working Space to Creative Professionals
By Kevin Collison A new co-working space that’s geared toward independent professionals in the advertising, public relations, web design and social media world has opened at 3238 Gillham Rd. CoCreate KC is the creation of advertising veterans Jan Creidenberg, Brad Lang and Matt Anthony, the former CEO of VML. It’s intended to be a place…
East Crossroads Mainstay ‘Thou Mayest’ Seeking New ‘Flagship’ Location
(Editor’s note, update on Thou Mayest from El Honcho Bo Nelson) Thou Mayest is at the beginning of a really exciting era. We are still weighing options on various properties for landing our location for our new and larger flagship store. The first project now under way is within Family Tree Nursery in Shawnee (7036…
When Cultures Connect
James Johnson served three tours in Vietnam, first as an Army helicopter gunner and then in military intelligence as a Marine. He followed in the footsteps of his sailor father, who was stationed at Pearl Harbor shortly after the bombing that drew America into World War II. But military service is not the only tie…
Developer Passes ‘Squint Test’ on New Armour Apartment Project
By Kevin Collison The design of the first apartment building in MAC Properties planned $78 million Armour Corners redevelopment won support from the City Plan Commission Wednesday after its developer noted it had passed the “squint test.” Peter Cassel of Chicago-based MAC said a consultant who assisted in the design of the seven-story building planned…
You’ll Find Clergy In All Sorts Of Places Around Kansas City
Keith Brown is a Protestant pastor who works in an elementary charter school, not a church. Jonathan Rudnick is a rabbi who doesn’t work in a synagogue but as a “community rabbi.” And Sulaiman Z. Salaam Jr. is an imam at a small mosque, but to earn a living, he operates a franchise restaurant at…