Civic Affairs
Streetcar to Stretch Farther Toward New Riverfront Soccer Stadium
By Kevin Collison The planned riverfront streetcar extension will be almost three soccer fields longer than originally planned to bring riders closer to the new KC Current stadium to be built east of Berkley Park. Streetcar chief Tom Gerend said a revised plan for the half-mile streetcar extension now brings the line to the middle…
Plan for Keystone Innovation Campus on East 18th Street Collapses
By Kevin Collison An ambitious proposal for a Keystone Innovation District campus on East 18th Street has experienced a major setback with a planned new office building and renovated warehouse no longer in the works. Keystone Community Corp., a strategic economic development initiative backed by the Civic Council of Greater Kansas City, had been working…
Cathedral Pursuing $14M Campaign for New Parish Center, Homeless Facility
By Kevin Collison The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, a landmark church that pre-dates downtown, has launched a $14 million campaign to build a new parish hall and renovate space for its breakfast program for the homeless. The brick Cathedral at 11th and Broadway with its striking gold dome steeple traces its roots to a…
Commentary: Looking Ahead to 2022
COMMENTARY By Kevin Collison A Tweet from Mayor Lucas over the New Year weekend inviting thoughts and questions about 2022 pushed my ambivalence off the fence about writing a beginning of the year opinion column. We hear plenty this time of year from pundits musing about the nation and the world, but since hyper-local greater…
Oak Tower may be Restored to Original 1920s Grandeur
By Kevin Collison A towering downtown architectural treasure that’s been hidden by cement stucco since 1974 may be restored to its Gothic glory by a Lawrence developer. The 28-story Oak Tower near City Hall was bought by Bill Schultheis a year ago, and he’s pursuing a renovation plan that would restore its original terra cotta exterior…