Opinion
Omaha Postcard: Big Downtown Park Overhaul Shows How to Attract People
(Editor’s note: This article originally was posted Sept. 21, 2022) By Kevin Collison We have one restless, striving neighbor to our north. In July, Omaha finished the first phase of a $325 million overhaul of its downtown and riverfront parks, and what’s occurring 200 miles upriver offers an important lesson for Kansas City. First a…
Opinion: Twenty Years Later, Our Downtown Heart is Healthier to Live and Play, More Work Needed
(Editor’s note: This column was published Oct. 31, but the review of the “Mending Our Broken Heart’ series also is a good way to anticipate the New Year in greater downtown Kansas City.) By Kevin Collison Twenty years after The Star published its groundbreaking “Mending Our Broken Heart” series, downtown is back in the game,…
Omaha Postcard: Big Downtown Park Overhaul Shows How to Attract People
By Kevin Collison We have one restless, striving neighbor to our north. In July, Omaha finished the first phase of a $325 million overhaul of its downtown and riverfront parks, and what’s occurring 200 miles upriver offers an important lesson for Kansas City. First a little contemporary history lesson, one that I witnessed while attending…
Riding the Rails Into 2021
By Kevin Collison What a difference a year makes. One year ago, anticipation was high that greater downtown was poised for a major influx of office development including the Strata and Platform Venture projects, and the new Waddell & Reed headquarters. The Loews Convention Hotel was only a few months from opening, new restaurants and…
In Memoriam: Erin Langhofer
Three young men, one with a loaded 9 mm handgun shoved in his sweatpants pocket, came to First Friday to “meet friends and hang out”, according to police. A young woman from Overland Park, a therapist working with victims of domestic violence at the Rose Brooks Center, visited First Friday to enjoy an event that…
Des Moines Postcard: An East Village Model for Downtown KC
By Kevin Collison Downtown Kansas City has certainly come a long way since its ‘haunted house’ days of the early 2000s, but other smaller, regional cities have been pushing hard reviving their downtowns too. Omaha has been redeveloping its downtown riverfront, Oklahoma City recently opened a downtown streetcar line and Des Moines has been busy…
Mayoral Candidate Jolie Justus Discusses Her Downtown Vision
(Editor’s note. Both mayoral candidates were invited by CityScene KC to write about their vision for greater downtown. Election Day is Tuesday, June 18) By Kansas City Councilwoman Jolie Justus, candidate for Mayor of Kansas City I am campaigning on a Neighborhoods First Agenda, and I see our downtown as a neighborhood. Downtown Kansas City…
State Historic Tax Credit Program Threatened, Major Downtown Redevelopment Tool
GUEST COMMENTARY By Elizabeth Rosin In 1998, Missouri enacted a state historic tax credit (HTC) to help property owners rehabilitate historic buildings. The impact of that legislation is evident when you look around downtown Kansas City. Today’s vibrant city owes much to the HTC. Since 2001, historic tax credits secured over $2 billion of private…
Designing and Building a Better Kansas City for the Future
GUEST COMMENTARY By Kevin Klinkenberg Coming back to Kansas City has left me excited about the recent changes. The ship has turned, and there’s a strong sense of optimism in the air. But as I noted before, the work is far from done. In fact, we have a long, tough mission ahead of us. The…
Restoring Residential Density by Embracing the ‘City’ in Kansas City
GUEST COMMENTARY By Kevin Klinkenberg An expert is someone that lives more than 30 miles away, so it’s said. Since I’ve spent about nine years living much more than 30 miles away from Kansas City, I suppose that’s made me a bona fide expert. In my last piece, I wrote about the excitement and positive…