CitySceneKC
With Building Restrooms Closed, Downtown Council Organizes Relief for Homeless
By Kevin Collison With so many downtown private and public building restrooms closed because of the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s practically impossible for homeless people to find a place to relieve themselves with dignity. That’s why the Downtown Council, along with the City Parks, Public Works and Housing Departments and the Streetcar Authority, have opened 20…
New Fundraiser Launched to Help Hard-Hit Restaurant, Bar Workers
The organizers of Curbside KC have added a new item to their menu for helping restaurant and other hospitality workers hit hard by the business restrictions forced by the Covid-19 crisis. Kansas City Runs on Hospitality is a fundraising effort that hopes to raise $100,000 to help out-of-work and/or underemployed restaurant and bar workers by…
Developers Leave the Light On for Downtown Hotel Projects
(Editor’s note May 15: The City Council unanimously approved revisions to the incentive package for the redevelopment of the historic KC Federal Reserve Bank building into a 301-room Embassy Suites hotel at its meeting Thursday.) By Kevin Collison Even though the local and national hospitality industry is being hammered by the Covid-19 pandemic, developers pursuing…
Consultant Recommends City Close Barney Allis Garage ‘Immediately’
By Kevin Collison A new engineering report is recommending the Barney Allis Plaza garage be immediately closed along with the Plaza above, ratcheting the pressure as the City Council explores alternatives to rebuild the aging civic asset While the report prepared by TranSystems, a city consultant, found no “immediate structural integrity issues” in the underground…
Key East Crossroads Corner Paved for Brewery Parking, Other Uses
By Kevin Collison After decades of scraggly existence, the northwest corner of 18th and Locust has been transformed into a 225-space controlled and paved public parking lot in the heart of the burgeoning food and microbrewery scene in the East Crossroads. What’s being called Brewers Alley Parking opened about a month ago, but its arrival…