News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
Chicago Developer Proposes $90 Million Kimpton Hotel Project at 45th and Main
By Kevin Collison A $90 million redevelopment plan that would transform an aging Holiday Inn at 45th and Main into a 275-room luxury Kimpton Hotel is in the works. The project is being pursued by the Janko Group from suburban Chicago. It’s design was endorsed this week by the City Plan Commission. “The driver of this…
Developer Plans 248-Unit Apartment Project on Troost Near Hospital Hill
By Kevin Collison Another big apartment project is in the works for Troost Avenue near Hospital Hill, a 248-unit development at the southeast corner of 25th Street that would take up an entire city block. The $40 million development planned by GSSW Real Estate Investments of Dallas was endorsed by the City Plan Commission Tuesday….
Educators And Execs Welcome Workforce Development Collaboration
“Our students are not widgets!” Certainly that is the sentiment of educators who see business involvement in schools as “putting in orders” for workers. Yet that refrain might be less common in an era when the whole notion of career and technical education is evolving way beyond shop class. Maybe that’s because each side understands…
Streetcar Keeps Rolling Toward Riverfront Without Federal Help
By Kevin Collison A multi-modal plan to extend the streetcar line to the riverfront, including a new concept to build a separate bicycle/pedestrian bridge next to the Grand Boulevard viaduct, continues to roll, but without help from Washington. The KC Streetcar Authority’s application for $25 million for the riverfront extension was rejected recently by the…
Southwest High was Once a Premier School. What Happened?
It boasts notable graduates, including acclaimed rapper Tech N9ne, the wealthy founders of H&R Block and celebrated journalist Calvin Trillin. Now Southwest High School is in decay and part of a heated debate about the future of public education in Kansas City. The building still looks beautiful on the outside. Towering Corinthian columns and a…
Poi-ō Brings Wood-Roasted Chicken to West Side
By Kevin Collison Carlos Mortera comes from a long line of restauranteurs, going back to his childhood days in Querétaro, Mexico. “I’ve been cooking for awhile,” he said. “My dad and grandpa had restaurants in Mexico.” Now, his dad Carlos Sr. is helping him fire up the oven with cherry wood at his new place,…
New 25-Story Office Tower Proposed for Downtown P&L District
By Kevin Collison A 25-story tower that would be the first multi-tenant office building built downtown since 1991 is being proposed for the block southwest of 13th and Main in the Power & Light District. The $132 million project, called Strata, would be located on what’s called Block 124, and would be built above the…
TIF Commission Agrees to Study Luxury Hotel Plan–Reluctantly
By Kevin Collison A $63 million ultra-luxury hotel project proposed next door to the Kauffman Center cleared its first hurdle Wednesday when the Kansas City TIF Commission reluctantly approved a funding agreement to study the plan. The 145-room hotel is being pitched by developers Whitney Kerr Sr. and Eric Holtze for vacant land controlled by…
New Plaza Preservation Battle, Developer Plans to Demolish Prominent Church for Apartments
(Editors’s Note: Plans for this project were first posted online by Next Kansas City) By Kevin Collison A plan to demolish a prominent church in the Country Club Plaza and replace it with a 12-story, mixed-use project is unfolding as the latest historic preservation battle over the soul of the venerable district. Legacy Development wants to redevelop…
New VisitKC Exec Anticipates Filling a ‘Saturated’ Downtown Hotel Market
By Kevin Collison The first time Jason Fulvi visited Kansas City 13 years ago, he flew back to Pittsburgh convinced there was no need to ever return. At that time downtown was in the early stages of its current renaissance, the Power & Light District, Sprint Center and Bartle Hall ballroom expansion just starting or…