Transportation
Mac Going Big at Future Streetcar Stop, Mixed-Use Project in Works
By Kevin Collison Mac Properties has acquired most of the high-profile block southwest of Main and Armour where the US Bank building is located and is planning a substantial mixed-use project including apartments and retail. The site, which is at the planned Armour streetcar stop, was purchased by the Chicago-based developer this month and while…
Bally Submits $61M Upgrade Plan for Former Isle of Capri Casino
By Kevin Collison Bally, the owner of the former Isle of Capri Casino, now Casino KC, has filed a plan with the city that calls for encasing the fake riverboat with a contemporary facade and building 38,400 square feet of commercial space. In a second phase, the plan calls for a seven-story, 150-room hotel to…
Busy Westport Intersection Calmed by Street Art
By Kevin Collison The intersection of Westport Road and Wyandotte is a calmer, more attractive place thanks to DuRon Netsell and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. A $25,000 grant from the Asphalt Art Initiative, one of Bloomberg’s philanthropic endeavors, has allowed Netsell to blend traffic-calming measures and street art to create a whole new…
FTA Grants Full $174M for Streetcar Extension to UMKC, Signing Early January
(Updated Jan. 7, 2021: Federal officials are scheduled to finalize full funding for the Main Street streetcar extension project at an event tomorrow (Friday) morning, according to a media alert from the Kansas City Streetcar Authority. Federal Transit Administration Deputy Administrator K. Jane Williams, Mayor Quinton Lucas and City Manager Brian Platt, local elected officials,…
‘Wrapped with Heart’ Negro Leagues Celebration Rolling
By Kevin Collison It started as a million-dollar year for the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum until Covid-19 hit in March. The pandemic forced the cancellation of several events planned this year to celebrate the centennial of the founding of the Negro Leagues and raise money for its museum in the 18th & Vine Historic District….
Penn Valley Campus Adding Engineering Technology Building
The engineering technology program at Metropolitan Community College is being relocated to the school’s Penn Valley campus near downtown and will be housed in a $7.2 million addition that began construction last month. The new MCC Engineering Technology building is going up on the south side of the Penn Valley Carter Art Center and the…
Developer Snaps Up Buildings on Main Near Planned Streetcar Stops
By Kevin Collison Exact Partners is continuing to snap up properties along the planned streetcar extension on Main Street, purchasing two office buildings at corners near where stops will be located at 31st and 39th streets. The firm, which includes Caleb Buland of Exact Architects and his partner Ilan Salzberg of Denver, is investing $10…
Streetcar Extension Office Opens, Project Expected to be Less Disruptive
By Kevin Collison Remember those trenches, makeshift bridges and orange fencing that disrupted downtown for what seemed an eternity when the starter streetcar line was built? Aaron Adams, the project manager planning the Main Street extension from Union Station to UMKC, is confident this project, while longer, won’t be as troublesome. “Everything we’re seeing right…
New Grocery Store Opening on Main Along Planned Streetcar Extension
(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…
Big Redevelopment Plan in Works for Historic KC Armory 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…