News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
New Survey: Streetcar No Toy, It’s More Little Engine That Could
A new survey of streetcar ridership dispenses with one myth suggested by its critics–it’s not being used as a free amusement park ride. Ninety percent were onboard to reach a destination, and 50 percent planned to spend money when they got there, according to the study conducted last August through October. Only 3 percent of…
Sculpture Alley Adding Public Art Venue to Crossroads Neighborhood
By Kevin Collison Several Crossroads property owners are creating a new venue for public art in downtown, designating an alley that runs behind some prominent galleries as “Sculpture Alley” and commissioning works to display there. “It’s a good way in which neighbors can work together to use a public space for public art,” said Suzie…
Tap List | Casual Animal Brewing Officially Opens in Crossroads
Casual Animal Brewing Company (1725 McGee) officially opens today. Owner and brewer Kyle Gray has five beers on tap including Treat Yourself Honey Wheat, Local Motive Pale Ale, Hoptify American IPA, Bear Hug Multigrain Brown Ale and Branch Out Stout. In addition to full 16-ounce pours and flights, the taproom offers a “swifty’ as an…
City Market Begins Charging for Workday Parking March 1
By Kevin Collison The City Market will end free parking during work hours starting March 1, eliminating what had evolved to become an informal park-and-ride deal for the rest of downtown since the streetcar began rolling in May 2016. “What happened was downtown businesses figured out our parking was free, and people started letting go…
Resurrecting Quindaro
As Americans north and south of the Mason-Dixon Line debated slavery, a boomtown that sprouted from the scrub along the Missouri River emerged as one of the most unlikely bellwethers of the national mood in the run-up to the Civil War. That community was Quindaro, Kansas, and virtually overnight it became something of a prototype…
The Rise and Fall of a Boomtown
Get a deeper history of the port town of Quindaro and hear from a local woman who used our curiousKC initiative to ask why excavations had not been finished for the important site.
Crown Center Offers New Site for Potential Mid-Rise Apartments
By Kevin Collison Hallmark Cards, Inc. is continuing to offer choice Crown Center construction sites to outside developers, this time a 4.4-acre tract south of the Shook Hardy law firm office tower. The site is being marketed by Block Real Estate Services and is described as a development opportunity for a “unique, mid-high rise multifamily”…
Five Things You Can Do To Protect Your Rights As A Tenant
Flatland sat down with Gina Chiala, executive director and attorney for the Heartland Center for Jobs and Freedom, to see what advice she offers to rental tenants in Kansas City as part of Public Works? A Level Foundation, our in-depth series on eviction, gentrification, and affordable housing in the metro. This is the transcript for…
New Report Finds Younger Adults and Singles Dominate Downtown Living
Downtown Kansas City residents are younger, more likely to be single and living by more ethnically diverse neighbors than the rest of the city and metro, according to a new study by the Downtown Council. The new State of Downtown report found the population of Greater Downtown is expected to jump from 21,000 in 2010…
Spark KC Joins Fast-Growing Downtown Co-Working Market
By Kevin Collison The Cordish Co. has joined the burgeoning co-working market downtown, announcing that 15,000 square feet in its new Two Light apartment project will be reserved for an office venture called “Spark KC.” “With the rapid growth of the downtown population, the demand for downtown office space is higher than it has been…