News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
Uptown Lofts a Transformational ‘Valentine’ to Midtown
Editor’s Note: Sunflower Development Group announced today (July 30) it has closed on its private financing and plans to begin construction next week on the Uptown Lofts mixed-use project with an expected completion in summer 2021. Mutual of Omaha Bank with participation from Capital Federal Savings has provided the financing for the project, according to Sunflower….
New Downtown Y Called Boost to Growing, Diverse Community
By Kevin Collison For perhaps the first time ever, downtown will be home to a high school swim team, one of many community-building opportunities cited last week at the kickoff event for the new YMCA at the Lyric Theater. The beginning of a civic endeavor that began in 2011 when YMCA executive David Byrd, fresh…
Making Gender Parity a ‘We’ Conversation
When Rania Anderson, a Kansas City-based business and management coach, heard it would take another 217 years to reach worldwide gender equity, she was appalled. That’s more than 300 years after women gained the right to vote in America and 271 years since the Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination. “One of the interesting…
‘Queer Eye’ Cast Boffo Hit at Downtown Library Book Event
By Kim Mueller Molly Vazquez and Erik Crawford huddled four hours in 34-degree weather outside the Downtown Public Library Wednesday night to see “The Fab Five” discuss their new book, “Queer Eye: Love Yourself. Love Your Life.” “We got in line at 2:30 because we wanted good seats,” said Crawford. “We knew how fast the…
Michael Smith’s Italian Restaurant ‘Farina’ Opening Late January
Celebrated chef Michael Smith’s new restaurant concept “Farina” is scheduled to open in late January at 19th and Baltimore in the Crossroads Arts District. The restaurant, which took over the former Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art space, originally was expected to open by Thanksgiving, but renovation delays have pushed that date back about two months….
A Role For City Hall
Google Fiber, the new streetcar and a booming downtown have all helped Kansas City recruit talented young people, Mayor Sly James said when a group of mayors sat down to talk about workforce development at Missouri Gov. Mike Parson’s Conference on Economic Development. Not so long ago, he observed, people moved to a place because…
Historic Palace Clothing Co. Building Finding New Future as Boutique Hotel
By Kevin Collison The historic Palace Clothing Co. building at 12th and Grand is slated to become a 110-room Canopy by Hilton boutique hotel, the latest entry to the booming downtown hospitality market. The planned $30 million renovation is being done by Mark Patel, a developer who also redeveloped the historic Gumbel Building into a…
Blue Collar Jobs Make (Lots Of) Cents
What would you say to making $18 per hour after less than half a year of postsecondary training? Or $35 an hour in a union job? Those aren’t hypotheticals. Workforce experts say those jobs exist in the Kansas City area, and workers are in demand. One of the biggest hurdles in matching people with those…
New YMCA Coming Downtown After 37-Year Absence, Work Starts Friday
By Kevin Collison A new downtown YMCA, a huge civic endeavor in the making for seven years, is scheduled to kickoff construction Friday in the former Lyric Theater building with completion expected in spring 2021. The $35 million Y will incorporate the front facade and lobby of the historic theater at 1029 Central and build…
All In The Family
Dave Damico has fond memories of talking baseball with his grandfather while growing up in Grandview, Missouri, just south of Kansas City. But one subject Damico’s grandfather rarely discussed — save for mention of fleas and lice — was his time in the trenches as a regimental-supply sergeant during World War I. Nor does Damico…