News & Issues

Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.

Lux Living has dropped its plan for a 250-unit apartment development at the downtown riverfront.

Lux Living Drops Two Apartment Projects, Still Pursues Tower Plan

LuxLiving, which is building the Katz project, has dropped two downtown residential deals but is still pursuing its big apartment and hotel high-rise proposal at 14th and Wyandotte.

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East Crossroads Apartment Plan With Affordable Units Moving Forward

By Kevin Collison Design work has begun on a 190-unit apartment project in the East Crossroads that will include affordable housing and a fitness center open to the public. Developer Michael Collins has acquired the 1.2-acre site southeast of Truman Road and Holmes from the city and is anticipates beginning construction on his ‘Mohawk at…

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Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas speaks at Union Station in Kansas City during a ceremonial Tech Hubs announcement.

KC Named ‘Tech Hub,’ Opening Door to Massive Federal Grants

The Kansas City region — stretching from Manhattan, Kansas, to Columbia, Missouri — is now a federally designated tech hub, offering access to grants.

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"Kansas City Week in Review" host Nick Haines.

Nick’s Picks | Here’s Your Kansas City News Forecast

This week’s Kansas City news forecast calls for changes in the unseasonably warm weather and a slew of local elections in early November.

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Big West Bottoms Redevelopment Project Wins Key Tax Incentives

By Kevin Collison A $526 million plan that would revitalize a big section of the West Bottoms by restoring dozens of historic buildings and repairing its crumbling infrastructure won vital tax incentive support from a city development agency Thursday. The sweeping proposal by New York-based SomeraRoad, which already has backing for its plan at City…

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Woman holds young boy while older woman looks on in child care facility

East Side Development Sales Tax

In 2017, voters approved a 1/8 cent sales tax with the goal of spurring economic development in disadvantaged neighborhoods of the city. So far, the Central City Economic Development (CCED) sales tax has awarded over $53 million and funded 39 projects. This month, Flatland in Focus investigates these projects and gages their effectiveness in addressing…

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Crown Center Lands Office Tenants, Credits Vibrant Environment

By Kevin Collison Crown Center is bucking the sluggish national and local office market trend, adding or renewing leases this year totaling 167,000 square feet with the biggest catch the Kutak Rock law firm. Stacey Paine, president at Crown Center Redevelopment, credits the mixed-use formula that was the foundation of the development more than 50…

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Founder Myron McCant looks through a window at the children served at KD Academy child care.

Sales Tax for East Side Projects Grapples with Growing Pains

Kansas City’s Central City Economic Development (CCED) sales tax program has produced mixed results and faces political headwinds as the time for renewal looms.

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KC Current Gets Saucy with Joe’s KC

Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que will storm the pitch as the first restaurant at the new KC Current professional women’s soccer stadium scheduled to open on the downtown riverfront in March. “Telling our local food story to the world, we are thrilled to feature Joe’s Kansas City BBQ at the KC Current stadium,” Colby and Megan…

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a banner hangs over the entrance to downtown Baldwin City. It reads "Welcome to the Maple Leaf Festival"

Rural Rebirth: ‘There’s Always Something Going On’ in Baldwin City 

Baldwin City went from “sleepy” 20 years ago to a vibrant community thanks to some dedicated locals. Its Maple Leaf Festival will draw thousands this weekend.

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