Civic Affairs
West Bottoms Prison Becoming Probation Transition Center
By Kevin Collison A minimum security state prison in the West Bottoms will become a probation and parole transition center early next year and state officials are vowing the facility won’t be the downtown headache it was a decade ago. “We have a very different philosophy toward corrections and a different executive team,” said Karen…
Keystone Innovation Concept Makes Real Estate Moves on East 18th Street
By Kevin Collison The Keystone Community Corp. is making its first real estate moves on East 18th Street, intending to occupy a new $20 million office project that could begin construction early next year and participate in renovating a nearby former warehouse building. J.E. Dunn Capital Partners, a partner with Keystone, has submitted a preliminary…
Barney Allis Rebuild Adds Affordable Housing in City Manager Plan
By Kevin Collison The long saga to revitalize the aging Barney Allis Plaza and its crumbling underground garage has taken another turn, this time due to a new proposal to add 300 units of affordable housing to the mix. City Manager Brian Platt has asked consultants to return to the drawing board for a Barney…
Game On for College Basketball Experience–Coaches Group, Too
By Kevin Collison The College Basketball Experience adjoining the T-Mobile Center is reopening Thursday with plenty of hoopla after going dark 17 months due to Covid and other challenges to getting its game back on. The CBE, which opened in 2007, features two floors dedicated to fully physical interactive exhibits and the history of men’s…
Kauffman Center, Folly, Midland, to Require Covid Vaccinations
By Kevin Collison Downtown’s cultural crown jewel, the Kauffman Center, will require patrons to show proof of vaccination for Covid-19 beginning Sept. 6, joining other venues requiring immunization since the pandemic resurged several weeks ago. “We feel that this measure, hopefully a temporary one, will allow us to welcome audiences safely back into the Kauffman…