Civic Affairs
Blue KC Buys 5-Acre Lot From Union Station, ‘Flexibility’ for HQ Decision
By Kevin Collison Blue KC has purchased a five-acre parking lot owned by Union Station adjoining its offices on Main street, a move that will allow the health insurance firm more flexibility as it anticipates the future of its headquarters. The strategic property north of Washington Square Park and south of the Kansas City Terminal…
RiverFest Combining Fireworks with World War I Museum, Ending Riverfront Event
KC RiverFest is ending its annual Fourth of Day fireworks celebration at Berkley Park and combining its pyrotechnics with the National World War I Museum and Memorial. The event put on by Friends of the River Kansas City at the Richard L. Berkley Riverfront, has been a family tradition for two decades. Originally planned for…
Commission Backs Landmark Protection for Buildings at 31st and Main
By Kevin Collison A unanimous recommendation last week that several endangered buildings at 31st and Main be declared local landmarks has City Councilwoman Katheryn Shields encouraged about preventing their demolition. The Historic Preservation Commission voted 6-0 to support the properties, including the prominent Jeserich Building (1888) at 3041-45 Main, be spared demolition by developer Doug…
Cathedral Revises Capital Campaign, Seeks New Site for Homeless Ministry
By Kevin Collison The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception has revamped its $14 million capital campaign, dropping plans for a new space for its homeless breakfast ministry and instead seeking another downtown location for the program. The cathedral, the seat of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, had planned to renovate its existing rectory…
Mark Twain Tower, Major Preservation Project, Opens to Residents in August
By Kevin Collison The 23-story Mark Twain Tower, one of downtown’s biggest historic preservation projects, is scheduled to begin accepting residents in August following a $60 million renovation that was slowed by the Covid pandemic. The building at 11th and Baltimore has been converted to 222 market-rate apartments by The Bernstein Cos. of Washington D.C….