CitySceneKC
Waddell & Reed Coming Downtown, Two Sites Considered HQ Finalists
Editor’s note: The Enhanced Enterprise Zone Board endorsed the property tax abatement recommended for the Waddell & Reed development Wednesday, the recommendation will now go to the Kansas City Council for consideration. During a presentation, attorney David Frantze, who represents the firm, said the total project value is $140 million and 250,000 square feet of…
Small(er) Westside Historic Rehab Apartment Project Moves Forward
By Kevin Collison Two years after first being proposed, the developer of a former power substation building at 2645 Madison near the Boulevard Brewery has been approved for tax incentives to convert it into a six-unit apartment project. The Planned Industrial Expansion Authority approved a development contract last week that includes a 10-year, 100 percent…
Mayor Stays Close to City Hall with TIF Commission Nominees
In his first important round of appointments, Mayor Quinton Lucas has stayed close to City Hall in nominating members for the city’s most high-profile economic development agency, the Kansas City Tax Increment Financing Commission. Three Kansas City Council members and one former member are among the six appointments the mayor is making to serve on…
Diane Burnette Leaves a Resurgent Main Street for Washington
By Kevin Collison Diane Burnette has one big regret leaving Midtown KC Now, formerly MainCor, for a new job with the Urban Land Institute in Washington D.C. after leading the key Main Street organization 16 years. “The one thing that bums me out,” she said, “I worked hard to get to this point and I’m…
A Year Later, No Sign of Hy-Vee Arena
By Kevin Collison A year after the Hy-Vee Arena amateur sports center opened in the West Bottoms following a $39 million redevelopment, it’s still invisible when it comes to downtown highway signage. Signs continue to refer to Kemper Arena, which essentially went dark with the opening of the Sprint Center in 2007, and that seriously…