Civic Affairs
Troost Developers Deserve Support, Not Criticism
GUEST COMMENTARY By John Hoffman, principal and co-founder of UC-B Properties The recent editorial in The Kansas City Star entitled “Stop the Denverization of Kansas City. Troost doesn’t need to be hipster-friendly” sparked an interest worth responding to by someone who has been developing along Troost for the last 10 years. Whoever was responsible for…
New Downtown Y Called Boost to Growing, Diverse Community
By Kevin Collison For perhaps the first time ever, downtown will be home to a high school swim team, one of many community-building opportunities cited last week at the kickoff event for the new YMCA at the Lyric Theater. The beginning of a civic endeavor that began in 2011 when YMCA executive David Byrd, fresh…
New YMCA Coming Downtown After 37-Year Absence, Work Starts Friday
By Kevin Collison A new downtown YMCA, a huge civic endeavor in the making for seven years, is scheduled to kickoff construction Friday in the former Lyric Theater building with completion expected in spring 2021. The $35 million Y will incorporate the front facade and lobby of the historic theater at 1029 Central and build…
Historic Board of Education Building Listed as ‘Place in Peril’ by State Preservation Group
By Kevin Collison The former Board of Education building at 1211 McGee, slated for demolition under a now-withdrawn Drury Hotel proposal, has been listed as one of 15 “Places in Peril” in Missouri by a prominent state historic preservation group. The Board of Ed building, completed in 1960, is the only Kansas City building included…
End of River Market Era, Pioneering Developer Dana Gibson Sells Holdings
By Kevin Collison Dana Gibson, who along with Mel Mallin began developing residential projects in the River Market in 1984, has sold his holdings, the final chapter in a downtown revival story that began in the rubble of what was once known as the River Quay. Gibson recalled the area was a wasteland when they…