News & Issues
O’Neil Bridge Begins Short-Term Repairs May 19; Replacement Could Open by 2023
By Kevin Collison Southbound traffic on the Buck O’Neill Bridge, a major link connecting the Northland and downtown, is scheduled to shut down May 19 for a $7 million repair project. Repair work to the former Broadway Bridge, which carries 44,000 vehicles daily on Route 169, is expected to be completed by Dec. 1. Northbound…
Affordable Housing: The Apartment Fight
When the Kansas City Housing Authority won a coveted $30 million federal grant in 2015 to tear down Chouteau Courts, a low-income housing project east of downtown, and replace it with mixed-income housing, housing advocates were thrilled. But when the Northland was proposed as a location for one of the new properties, area residents took…
Former Union Hill Motel Converted to Apartments
By Kevin Collison A former motel at 29th and Main has been renovated into 96 apartments, many geared toward the high-demand, affordable housing market. The one-time Residence Inn was converted into rental housing by Bob Frye of Union Hill development. It’s offering studio and smaller one-bedroom units from $895- to $995 per month, and two…
Art in the Loop Returns to Downtown
By Kim Mueller Be prepared to play in the city this summer when art comes alive in the park, library, streetcar and studios as part of the 2018 Art in the Loop project. “We look forward to this year being the biggest and boldest yet,” said Donna Mandelbaum, KC Steetcar Authority communications director. Art in…
Historic Site Gets Some Comic Relief
As attendance at religious services declines nationwide, houses of worship are getting repurposed, including an old brick church just east of 199th and Metcalf in southern Johnson County, on four-block-long Park Street. Calvin Coolidge is loving it back to life. No, not that Coolidge. Rather, his distant cousin, the Kansas City singer and comic. When…