News & Issues
A Role For City Hall
Google Fiber, the new streetcar and a booming downtown have all helped Kansas City recruit talented young people, Mayor Sly James said when a group of mayors sat down to talk about workforce development at Missouri Gov. Mike Parson’s Conference on Economic Development. Not so long ago, he observed, people moved to a place because…
Historic Palace Clothing Co. Building Finding New Future as Boutique Hotel
By Kevin Collison The historic Palace Clothing Co. building at 12th and Grand is slated to become a 110-room Canopy by Hilton boutique hotel, the latest entry to the booming downtown hospitality market. The planned $30 million renovation is being done by Mark Patel, a developer who also redeveloped the historic Gumbel Building into a…
Blue Collar Jobs Make (Lots Of) Cents
What would you say to making $18 per hour after less than half a year of postsecondary training? Or $35 an hour in a union job? Those aren’t hypotheticals. Workforce experts say those jobs exist in the Kansas City area, and workers are in demand. One of the biggest hurdles in matching people with those…
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…
All In The Family
Dave Damico has fond memories of talking baseball with his grandfather while growing up in Grandview, Missouri, just south of Kansas City. But one subject Damico’s grandfather rarely discussed — save for mention of fleas and lice — was his time in the trenches as a regimental-supply sergeant during World War I. Nor does Damico…