Kevin Collison
Publisher
Flatland contributor Kevin Collison is the founder of CityScene KC, an online source for downtown news and issues.
Stories by Kevin Collison
Crossroads Shapes Up with New Men’s Barber Shop
By Kevin Collison The influx of new businesses and services in the Crossroads now includes a men’s barber shop in the mix. Dane Casey has opened his Venturemen Barbering Shoppe inside the EAST + WEST men’s clothing store at 1828 Grand Blvd. He offers what he describes as “high-quality men’s grooming” that includes haircuts, beard…
Afterword Tavern Brings Fresh Food, Drink and Ideas to Crossroads
By Kevin Collison If there’s one thing Christian Overgaard would like to see happen when people visit his new place, Afterword Tavern & Shelves, its having their curiosity awakened. “We keep coming back to a theme of discovery,” he said. “A place where someone walks in and by the time they leave, maybe they know…
Copaken Brooks Apartment Tower Starts Construction in November
By Kevin Collison Construction is expected to begin in November on the 14-story Copaken Brooks apartment tower at 18th and Walnut, with completion anticipated in spring 2020. The $40 million project will bring residential life in the Crossroads Arts District to a new level, adding 132 apartments to the neighborhood as well as additional retail…
Event and Commercial Uses Planned for Longtime Eyesore Buildings on Grand
By Kevin Collison The last major blighted properties along an approximately four-block stretch of Grand Boulevard between 19th Street and Truman Road are slated for redevelopment as luxury event space and commercial uses. Matt Abbott, a prolific Crossroads Arts District developer, plans to convert the deteriorated building at 1616 Grand into an event complex he’s…
Crossroads Developer Nate Accardo Tackles New Project
By Kevin Collison Nate Accardo, one of the Crossroads’ pioneer developers, is renovating a 90 year-old building at 108 W. 19th St. and plans to market it for office tenants, hopefully creative individuals and firms. The former owner of Custom Color, a photography processing and production company, began renovating properties in the Crossroads area in…
Wheat Neighborhood Table Now Serving the Crossroads
By Kim Mueller Jennifer Wheat took community building to a whole new level this month when she opened her café in the Crossroads as a way to feed her neighbors. “I literally named it Neighborhood Table because I wanted it to be a neighborhood project,” explained Jennifer Wheat who opened Wheat Neighborhood Table in the former…
Streetcar Authority Doesn’t Want Scooters to Wind Up in a Rut
By Kevin Collison They’re both electric, they’re both a cool way to get around downtown and they’re both on the same street. But when it comes to whizzing down Main, the Kansas City Streetcar Authority doesn’t want scooter riders to wind up in a rut–literally. That’s why the Authority is launching a campaign later this…
City Club Apartments Kick Off, First Residents Expected Next Fall
By Kevin Collison The City Club Apartments project at 20th and Main formally broke ground this week, and developers believe there’s a robust appetite for the kind of upscale units it will bring to the Crossroads area. “What’s got me excited is the renters are out there waiting for us,” said Jonathan Holtzman, CEO of…
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…
Streetcar Extension Cost Up $66 Million in Fed Funding Application
By Kevin Collison The cost of extending the streetcar from downtown to UMKC has increased to $316 million, up 26.4 percent from the previous $250 million estimate, according to an application for federal funding submitted last week by the Kansas City Streetcar Authority. Much of the increase is related to policy changes in Washington, streetcar…