Civic Affairs
Boutique Hotel Proposed for Historic Workhouse Castle on Vine
(Editor’s note: This article was originally published Feb. 1) By Kevin Collison The ruined former City Workhouse Castle built in 1897 to incarcerate petty criminals and vagrants would accommodate a far more upscale clientele as a boutique hotel in a new redevelopment proposal. The massive limestone curiosity at 2001 Vine St. near the 18th &…
Liberty Street Green Space Completes First Year in West Bottoms
(Editor’s note: This article originally appeared Dec. 29, 2021) By Kevin Collison One of greater downtown’s newer “parks” recently celebrated a quiet first anniversary, except for the rumbling trucks overhead. It’s called the Liberty Street Green Space and it replaces a grubby, former no-man’s land beneath the I-670 overpass in the West Bottoms with decorative…
Imagine KC Strategic Plan Seeks More ‘Equitable Downtown’
(Editor’s note: This article was originally published Jan. 26) By Kevin Collison A strategic plan that encompasses neighborhoods more than a mile from the skyscrapers of its central business district and envisions downtown as an economic catalyst for that larger area was rolled out Tuesday by the Downtown Council. The new Imagine Downtown KC 2030…
Barney Allis Plaza Rebuild Proposal Adds 226-Unit Apartment Project
By Kevin Collison The city’s plan for rebuilding a crumbling Barney Allis Plaza has grown into a larger proposal that adds a privately-developed 10-story apartment building that would include affordable housing. The new two-phase approach calls for the estimated $112.5 million reconstruction of the city-owned plaza and underground garage to be paid for publicly, and…
NFL Draft May Make Next Year Busiest in KC Sports History
(Editor’s note: This article originally appeared March 7, 2022) By Kevin Collison Next year may be the busiest in Kansas City sports history including up to 350,000 visitors coming downtown next spring for the 2023 NFL Draft, according to a top local sports official. “Four weeks of collegiate basketball, then we roll into our first…