Transportation
Promise of Streetcar Expansion Prompts Developers to Pursue $16.3 Million Apartment Project on Main Street
(Editor’s note: CityScene KC is taking a little time off to recharge its batteries in the Black Hills. Following the recent FTA decision to fund the planned extension of the streetcar from downtown to UMKC, the next few days will feature previous stories about the plans and ideas already set in motion along Main Street in…
‘Great Day for KC,’ Feds Green-Light Main Street Extension of Streetcar
(Editor’s note: Updated Sept. 3 with new renderings of planned Country Club Plaza streetcar stop and a schedule for the Main Street extension presented today by Tom Gerend, KC Streetcar executive director, to the Downtown Council board. The current schedule calls for actual streetcar line construction to begin two years from now. Testing of the…
Plan to Rebuild Barney Allis Plaza Revived by Council
(Updated Sept. 3. Supporters of rebuilding Barney Allis Plaza and its underground garage hope to obtain City Council approval next March to fund the estimated $61.7 million project, the Downtown Council board was told today. The board was presented with a schedule for the proposed Barney Allis project by Bill Crandall, a consultant for the…
KC Streetcar Seeks Sponsors to Replace Sprint
By Kevin Collison The Kansas City Streetcar Authority is pitching its fleet for advertising now that Sprint is no longer around as its primary sponsor. “Sprint was a sponsor even before opening day,” said Donna Mandelbaum, spokeswoman for the Authority. “Every year they had the option to renew and they did. We didn’t have to…
Study Seeks to Reunite River Market and Columbus Park
(Updated Nov. 10, 2020: The Downtown Council and the city are holding a self-guided public open house from Nov. 11 through Nov. 29 to provide people an opportunity to learn more about the Bridging Park & Market study and offer their input. “The goal is for residents and visitors to experience a more livable, safe…
East Village Transit Center Opening in Early August
By Kevin Collison The new East Village Transit Center at 12th and Charlotte, the final installment in a $56 million service improvement program by the KC Transportation Authority, is scheduled to open for its first bus riders on Aug. 2. KCATA officials believe the new $5 million facility will be a substantial improvement over the…
Streetcar Riverfront Plan Downsized, Backers Seek $14.2M from Feds
(Editor’s note: Updated Sept. 10, 2020. The KC Streetcar Authority announced it received $14.2 million in federal funding to expand the line to the riverfront) By Kevin Collison Supporters of the planned streetcar extension to the riverfront have shortened the route and dropped one of its stations in a bid to obtain $14.2 million in…
Streetcar-Related River Market Mixed-Use Project Progressing
By Kevin Collison A proposed, streetcar-oriented $65 million apartment and hotel project is rolling along in the River Market, with a final development agreement with the KCATA anticipated by late August and possible construction start early next year. The six-story development planned for what’s currently a parking lot at Third and Grand calls for about…
Crumbling Barney Allis Plaza Now ‘Hotspot’ for Downtown Problems
By Kevin Collison Less than a month after a consultant urged its immediate closure, the problems at Barney Allis Plaza and its garage continue to worsen as city officials find themselves at loggerheads over its future. At a City Council Finance Committee meeting Wednesday, members were told the former downtown civic centerpiece has gone dark…
Consultant Recommends City Close Barney Allis Garage ‘Immediately’
By Kevin Collison A new engineering report is recommending the Barney Allis Plaza garage be immediately closed along with the Plaza above, ratcheting the pressure as the City Council explores alternatives to rebuild the aging civic asset While the report prepared by TranSystems, a city consultant, found no “immediate structural integrity issues” in the underground…