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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…
Read MoreCrossroads Prep Opens Downtown in Historic Thayer Building
By Kevin Collison Six years after launching Crossroads Academy in downtown with 190 elementary students, Dean Johnson and his colleagues welcomed another 190 students, this time at a new high school in the historic Thayer building. Johnson, executive director, said the charter school has grown to 800 students since opening in a former office building…
Read MoreOur Daily Nada Opening in River Market, Joins Growing Cafe Scene
By Kevin Collison Our Daily Nada, the anticipated new River Market bookstore and cafe, expects to open this week, featuring the welcoming escape envisioned in its namesake short story by Ernest Hemingway. “We want it to be a comfortable place for people to relax and enjoy a drink,” said co-owner Andrea Baca. “There will be…
Read MoreJust in Time for Dog Days, Bar K Opening Soon on Riverfront
By Kevin Collison Brooke Laws and her pal Gatsby had been at a loss since July 22. Their favorite hangout, Bar K, had closed its West Bottoms pilot operation and it wasn’t until this week its new riverfront location was ready for a sneak preview. “During the two weeks without this, we thought ‘what are…
Read MoreDrury Wants to Raze Historic Board of Ed Building, Replace with $50M Hotel
(Editor’s note: Updated with image of a proposed 21-story Drury Hotel in downtown Nashville) By Kevin Collison Drury Hotels wants to demolish the vacant Board of Education building at 1211 McGee and replace it with a 242-room hotel and parking garage. The St. Louis-based hotel chain has submitted a proposal to the Kansas City Tax…
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