Kevin Collison, CityScene

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

KC Live’s Theater-Size Video Screen Debuts for Big 12 Tournament

It’s become harder to leave the pre-game partying in the Kansas City Live! courtyard to walk over to the actual event at Sprint Center. The Power & Light District has replaced its previous low-def screen with a theater-size panel that offers a much sharper image. If Thursday was any indication, the fans downtown for the…

Novel Restaurant Opening New Chapter in East Crossroads

By Kevin Collison Novel KC restaurant will be packing up the house soon–literally–and moving from the Westside neighborhood to the East Crossroads. After operating five years in a cozy house at 815 W. 17t St., the fine-dining restaurant, it’s actually about “Novel American cuisine” not books, is relocating to 1927 McGee St. and plans to…

Police to ‘Educate’ Downtown Motorists Before Parking Crackdown

Updated with message from City Manager: Starting Monday, April 9, @kcpolice will increase downtown parking enforcement. Warning tickets will be issued for a short period, however, if the parking violation is a safety concern, or impedes the natural flow of traffic, a citation could be issued. More details here. Downtown motorists will have an “education”…

Tribe Bringing World Street Food to River Market

By Kevin Collison The new Tribe street kitchen opening next month in the River Market wants to be to your appetite what world music is to your ears. “All of us have experienced cultures throughout the world,” said co-founder Sam Hagan. “We came to the conclusion that different cultures are brought together by food and…

Final Local Push Underway to Extend Streetcar from Downtown to UMKC

By Kevin Collison The complex process required to extend the streetcar from downtown to the University of Missouri-Kansas City is nearing the end of the line, at least locally, with voters along the route now eligible to apply for ballots for the upcoming mail-in election. Beginning this week, registered voters within the Transportation Development District…

Strange Days Arrive in the River Market

By Kevin Collison Strange Days’ day has finally arrived in the River Market. Nathan Howard opened his international-theme microbrewery last weekend at 316 Oak St. after a couple of months delay awaiting city approvals. “We started brewing in early December and anticipated an opening in mid-to late January,” he said. “We hit a little delay…

Dream of Reconnecting Downtown to Crossroads with Park Over South Loop Costs Much Less

By Kevin Collison A longtime dream to reconnect downtown with the Crossroads by decking the 1960s era South Loop trench may be closer to reality under a new plan that slices more than $60 million from earlier cost estimates. The study done by HNTB at the request of the Downtown Council and partly funded by…

Ceremony Salutes Start of 24-Story Convention Hotel Project

By Kevin Collison Kansas City’s long quest to build a downtown convention hotel culminated Thursday on a sparkling morning at a formal groundbreaking by the construction site at 17th and Baltimore. More than 200 people celebrated the construction start of the 800-room Loews Kansas City Convention Center Hotel, a $322.7 million project that’s expected to…

County Line Ice House Smokin’ Downtown for Big 12 Tournament

By Kevin Collison The much-anticipated County Line Ice House, a tasty collaboration between Joe’s Kansas City and Back Napkin, is scheduled to open tonight in the Power & Light District, just in time for next week’s Big 12 Basketball Tournament. Jeff Stehney, founder of the nationally-renowned Joe’s, said the new 9,500 square-foot restaurant that’s taking…

City Barrel Brewing Plans Fall Opening

By Kevin Collison The Crossroads will be the home of another microbrewery this fall when City Barrel Brewing Co. opens in a historic building at 1916 Grand Blvd. The microbrewery, which will specialize in “hoppy, wild and sour beers,” according to its Facebook page, is being started by two craft beer industry veterans, James Stutsman…