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
‘Black Lives Matter’ Murals En Route to Greater Downtown Streets
Sections of three streets in the greater downtown area are among a half-dozen throughout the city that will be painted with privately-funded murals this Saturday to publicize the Black Lives Matter movement. The “KC Art on the Block: A Black Lives Matter Project” is being organized by a variety of local groups including the NAACP,…
KCAI Welcomes Students with New Facilities, Honors School President
By Kevin Collison The Kansas City Art Institute is launching its school year this week with the opening of its new student center and a permanent tribute to Tony Jones, the leader who’s sparked the school’s renaissance in recent years. The new 18,000 square-foot Paul and Linda DeBruce Hall at 44th and Oak was designed…
City Club Apartments Open
By Kevin Collison The City Club Apartments, a sprawling development that revived much of a key Crossroads block, is beginning to accept residents and plans to announce its new restaurant tenant soon. The $76.8 million project by Detroit-based City Club is opening its 283 apartments in phases with the first 17 units delivered a couple…
Port KC Pursuing Beer Garden and More for Berkley Riverfront Park
By Kevin Collison Port KC is contemplating a beer garden and cafe at Berkley Riverfront Park to help satisfy thousands of volleyball players and create a fixed venue for other events. With hundreds of new apartments opening or in the works on the riverfront and six sand volleyball courts that attract 2,000 players weekly, Port…
Three Light Dims a Notch
By Kevin Collison The Three Light luxury apartment tower has been downsized slightly from its original scope from 321 apartments to 288, and from 32 stories tall to 26, according to new bid documents. The fresh information on the Bidclerk trade publication website indicates the luxury apartment tower, which had been expected to break ground earlier…
Federal Funding Spurs Main Street Extension of KC Streetcar
The Federal Transit Administration has allocated $50.78 million for the Main Street extension of the KC Streetcar, the first installment toward building the route from downtown to UMKC.
‘Great Day for KC,’ Feds Green-Light Main Street Extension of Streetcar
(Editor’s note: Updated Sept. 3 with new renderings of planned Country Club Plaza streetcar stop and a schedule for the Main Street extension presented today by Tom Gerend, KC Streetcar executive director, to the Downtown Council board. The current schedule calls for actual streetcar line construction to begin two years from now. Testing of the…
Rebranded Buffalo State Pizza Opens Temporary Patio on Wyandotte
By Kevin Collison Phillippe Lechevin, like other downtown restaurant owners, is improvising to survive the Covid-19 pandemic. The owner of Buffalo State Pizza at 1815 Wyandotte, formerly Papa Keno’s, recently received city permission to open a temporary, 20-person patio in the parking lane of Wyandotte in front and his introduced live music on Friday nights…
Plan to Rebuild Barney Allis Plaza Revived by Council
(Updated Sept. 3. Supporters of rebuilding Barney Allis Plaza and its underground garage hope to obtain City Council approval next March to fund the estimated $61.7 million project, the Downtown Council board was told today. The board was presented with a schedule for the proposed Barney Allis project by Bill Crandall, a consultant for the…
Quixotic Performs ‘Twilight Soiree’ on Westin Crown Center Rooftop
By Kevin Collison Quixotic, Kansas City’s premier blend of acrobatic grace and theatrical verve, is returning to Crown Center this weekend for what the troupe hopes will be a series of open-air performances. The “Twilight Soiree” rooftop variety show will be performed on the fourth level sports deck at the Westin Crown Center, an outdoor…