Civic Affairs
Spectacular Liberty Memorial Poppy Display to Honor Centennial of World War I Armistice
“In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row…” “In Flanders Fields,” written by Lt. Col. John McCrae in 1915 to honor a fallen comrade. By Kevin Collison More than 5,000 poppies, the symbol of the fallen soldiers of World War I, will illuminate Liberty Memorial beginning next Friday to mark the centennial…
Hy-Vee Arena Opens, Bringing New Bounce to Bottoms
By Kevin Collison The Hy-Vee Arena formally opened last week in the West Bottoms at a ceremony where developer Steve Foutch was saluted for his vision and perseverance in reviving what had become a costly white elephant for the city, the former Kemper Arena. “Six years ago, he approached us with the idea of a…
Better Block KC Tames Oak Street in Crossroads
By Kevin Collison A stretch of Oak Street in the Crossroads will be a lot chiller through Oct. 27 thanks to Better Block KC, a “tactical urbanism” design group. Last Sunday, about a dozen volunteers with the group transformed a two-block section of Oak between 17th and 19th streets from what sometimes can be a…
Ultra-Luxury $63 Million Hotel Proposed Near Kauffman Center
(Editor’s note: The Denver architect of the proposed Bravo! Hotel has merged his firm with CannonDesign. New renderings of the project have been added to the article.) By Kevin Collison A high-end $63 million boutique hotel that backers say would be the most luxurious in the metro is being proposed across Wyandotte Street from the…
UMKC Rejects Downtown Options for Conservatory
(Editor’s note: Updated with reaction from the Downtown Council and City Manager Troy Schulte) By Kevin Collison The seven-year quest by civic leaders to bring the UMKC Conservatory to downtown Kansas City ended abruptly Tuesday when university officials issued a statement that rejects any downtown location. Instead, Chancellor C. Mauli Agrawal said that UMKC will only…