Final Local Push Underway to Extend Streetcar from Downtown to UMKC
By Kevin Collison The complex process required to extend the streetcar from downtown to the University of Missouri-Kansas City is nearing the end of the line, at least locally, with voters along the route now eligible to apply for ballots for the upcoming mail-in election. Beginning this week, registered voters within the Transportation Development District…
Gentrification: The Westside
In the historic Westside neighborhood, “gentrification” has become a hotly contested word. From long-term residents to real estate developers, a neighborhood meeting shows there’s the pull between old and new, and a question of the right way to evolve a neighborhood. This video is part of a larger project from Kansas City PBS and Flatland…
River Market Rallies Against Deportation of Blue Line Manager
By Kim Mueller Patrons poured out of The Blue Line Hockey Bar in the River Market and marched Monday in support of bar manager Leticia Stegall who was deported Friday as part of an immigration enforcement operation. “Look at all these people who are here for you,” Jennifer told her mom, Leticia Stegall, as the…
Strange Days Arrive in the River Market
By Kevin Collison Strange Days’ day has finally arrived in the River Market. Nathan Howard opened his international-theme microbrewery last weekend at 316 Oak St. after a couple of months delay awaiting city approvals. “We started brewing in early December and anticipated an opening in mid-to late January,” he said. “We hit a little delay…
Tap List | City Barrel Brewing Company Announces Crossroads Location
The Crossroads will have a sixth brewery by the end of the year. Co-founders James Stutsman, Grant Waner and Joe Giammonco recently announced plans to build City Barrel Brewing Company (1916 Grand St.), a 15-barrel brewery with a 2,500 square-foot taproom that seats 150 people. A 1,000 square-foot patio with an additional 75 seats will face…
Dream of Reconnecting Downtown to Crossroads with Park Over South Loop Costs Much Less
By Kevin Collison A longtime dream to reconnect downtown with the Crossroads by decking the 1960s era South Loop trench may be closer to reality under a new plan that slices more than $60 million from earlier cost estimates. The study done by HNTB at the request of the Downtown Council and partly funded by…
Can You Improve an Area Without Gentrifying It?
By Anne Kniggendorf As a traffic engineer, Jay Aber worries that some of the improvements he designs have the exact opposite effect of what he had hoped. “We try to improve the street for the people who live there,” Aber said. “Then, the people who live there end up getting pushed out in favor of…
The Inside Job
The Marlborough Community Coalition’s Facebook page recently featured a newspaper story documenting the surprising luxury housing and commercial development boom taking place a few miles north in Kansas City’s Beacon Hill neighborhood. The story was accompanied by a message: “Change can happen!” In fact, a different kind of change already is happening in Marlborough, the…
Ceremony Salutes Start of 24-Story Convention Hotel Project
By Kevin Collison Kansas City’s long quest to build a downtown convention hotel culminated Thursday on a sparkling morning at a formal groundbreaking by the construction site at 17th and Baltimore. More than 200 people celebrated the construction start of the 800-room Loews Kansas City Convention Center Hotel, a $322.7 million project that’s expected to…
County Line Ice House Smokin’ Downtown for Big 12 Tournament
By Kevin Collison The much-anticipated County Line Ice House, a tasty collaboration between Joe’s Kansas City and Back Napkin, is scheduled to open tonight in the Power & Light District, just in time for next week’s Big 12 Basketball Tournament. Jeff Stehney, founder of the nationally-renowned Joe’s, said the new 9,500 square-foot restaurant that’s taking…
Soft Shell Crab Po’ Boys & Other Weekend Possibilities
If you’re trying to avoid meat for Lent or if you’re in search of some seafood options, Taco Republic (500 County Line Road, Kansas City, Kansas) has Friday fish specials, including a blackened shrimp rice bowl with corn, guacamole, black beans and pico de gallo. Across the street, Joe’s Kansas City (3002 W. 47th Ave., Kansas…
City Barrel Brewing Plans Fall Opening
By Kevin Collison The Crossroads will be the home of another microbrewery this fall when City Barrel Brewing Co. opens in a historic building at 1916 Grand Blvd. The microbrewery, which will specialize in “hoppy, wild and sour beers,” according to its Facebook page, is being started by two craft beer industry veterans, James Stutsman…
Six-Story River Market Apartment Project Wins City Council Approval
By Kevin Collison Plans for a six-story apartment project near Third and Grand in the River Market have been approved by the city, but no construction timetable has been decided, according to the developer. The City Council approved the 93-unit Ashland at River Market project planned by KC Commercial Realty Group last week. The development…
Order Up | Ibis Bakery’s Sticky Bun
Order Up is a regular series that takes a layered look at drinks and eats across Kansas City. You can see previous selections here. Got a dish you think we should feature? Drop us a note below or on Twitter @FlatlandKC.
Pawn & Pint Finally Adds Beers to Bites and Boards
By Kevin Collison It took a move from the Crossroads, but downtown board game enthusiasts now have a relaxing space where they can have a drink and good food while escaping their screens and interacting with a live person. Pawn & Pint relocated from Southwest Boulevard last October to a former nightclub space at 613…