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Friday May 1, 2008 - The Kansas City Business Journal Bond Issue Closes for First East Village Phase Stern Brothers & Co. announced Tuesday that it closed on a $29.3 million bond issue for the first phase of the Kansas City East Village Redevelopment Project. The East Village project includes redevelopment of 12 blocks northeast of City Hall into 1,183 housing units, 87,200 square feet of retail and 204,000 square feet of office space that will house the world headquarters for J.E. Dunn Construction. The bond money will finance land acquisition and remediation for part of the overall project, and construction costs for a 750-space public parking garage. Stern Brothers served as senior managing underwriter for the bonds. Tom Moriarty, managing director of Stern Brothers, said the bond maturity dates range from 2011 to 2031, with interest rates between 2.78 percent and 4.83 percent. The bonds have a 10-year call provision, allowing Kansas City to redeem the bonds at any point after that period. The city will finance the bonds with revenue from state and local tax increment financing set up for the project. Monday February 11, 2008 Patterson announces Broadway Boulevard development Greg Patterson…the Champion of Kansas City’s Broadway Boulevard(Kansas City, Mo.)…Broadway is Greg Patterson’s passion. That is, the grand street in the Kansas City urban core between the Metro’s highly-visible Country Club Plaza and Crossroads District. Patterson serves as president of the Broadway Westport Council. He has lived and worked in the area for thirty years. Tuesday January 15, 2008 JE Dunn Starts Building $40.5M HQ Jan 15, 2008 - The Kansas City Business Journal Groundbreaking on the $40.5 million building began Monday. About 520 JE Dunn employees will work in the five-story structure southeast of 10th and Locust streets. Occupancy is planned for mid-2009. Construction of the headquarters and an adjacent, $18.3 million parking garage for 780 vehicles had been delayed for about a year while the Tax Increment Financing Commission of Kansas City acquired property for the project. The commission made the purchases because it's financing the garage's construction. Property owners balked at the commission's initial offer, less than $35 a square foot. Sales came at $45 a square foot. JE Dunn ranks No. 1 on the Kansas City Business Journal's list of the Top Area Commercial Contractors.
POSTED Thursday January 11, 2007 Megan Brody Staff Writer KANSAS CITY | The JE Dunn Construction Co. will break ground on a new $60 million, 5-story, 185,000 square foot headquarters this spring. The company employs over 3,000 people in 17 locations throughout the United States. It will consolidate its five Kansas City locations, totaling 110,000 square feet, into the new building, which is set for construction on the east side of Kansas City’s downtown. All of the company’s current leases are on a month-to-month basis, and once the new headquarters is complete, the company will let all five expire. “We had to make a decision if we were going to stay here. The other thing is we wanted to bring everyone under one roof. With different locations, you loose some synergy, productivity and efficiency,” says Steve Dunn, chairman. His grandfather founded the construction firm in 1924. JE Dunn is a significant part of Kansas City business, with revenues exceeding $2.6 billion. The company will further its commitment to the downtown area with the construction of its headquarters and 750-car parking structure. The building will house up to 550 employees and serve as the final element to the downtown civic corridor. The design honors and complements the existing architecture of City Hall, the Federal Courthouse and the Department of Transportation Building. “It was extremely important to us to stay on the east side of Kansas City. We wanted to make sure that the blight in this area was cleaned up,” says Chuck Cianciaruso, senior vice president in Corporate Development with JE Dunn. JE Dunn has worked closely with state and city officials to develop the site, which formerly housed a motel and bus terminal. The entire area is poised for redevelopment. A TIF district was established, fueling the change and much of the money has so far been used toward blight removal. The General Services Administration has expressed interest in constructing a 600,000 square foot property to house roughly 2,000 employees in the neighborhood, but the federal agency is also considering at least one other site. Swope Community Builders, a Kansas City community development corporation, and Sherman Associates of Minneapolis plan to build housing and offices on a 12-block area called East Village, including an estimated 400 to 600 housing units. “With that number of employees plus housing, this area is really going to get cleaned up and be a positive aspect for downtown,” Dunn says. JE Dunn’s new headquarters will complete the enclosure of the civic mall serving as a catalyst to the East Village Development and will help attract other large tenants to the area. The exterior of pre-cast concrete and glass will house a flexible office environment, state-of-the-art technology, a cafeteria, and a variety of public spaces. The preliminary designs were prepared by BNIM/360, an association of BNIM Architects and 360 Architecture. JE Dunn Construction Inc. specializes in construction management, program management, general construction and design-build. The sixth largest general building contractor in the United States, JE Dunn Construction Group is comprised of six construction companies with offices in 17 locations.
Posted Dec. 6, 2006 An experienced urban housing developer is the Port Authority of Kansas City's new director.Vincent Gauthier will start Monday with the agency, staffed by the Economic Development Corp. of Kansas City.Gauthier, 44, said he wants to implement the Port Authority's revitalization plans for 55 acres south of Richard L. Berkeley Riverfront Park. He called the property, between the Heart of America and Paseo bridges, "the last frontier in the urban core." Full Story at http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2006/12/04/daily21.html
Posted Tue, Nov. 21, 2006 By KEVIN COLLISON John Norquist, the keynote speaker at the annual Downtown Council luncheon last week, longs for the good old days when the free market ruled urban development patterns. Full Story at
Posted Sat, Aug. 12, 2006 Art? For art’s sake, it’s an exciting time By ALICE THORSON Kansas City’s appetite for barbecue is well-known. But when it comes to a visual feast, it seems we can’t get our fill of outdoor art. If there’s a green space in the urban core, chances are someone is about to put a sculpture on it. In the past two weeks the City Council approved major public art projects for the Sprint Center and the Bartle Hall expansion. On Tuesday American Century unveiled its new Sculpture Field on Main Street with a display of six large works by Kansas City artist Stretch. On Friday the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art expanded its outdoor sculpture display with the installation of a 12½-foot -high rendition of a white handkerchief billowing out of a suit pocket. The piece has been placed along Warwick Boulevard on the northeast corner of the museum’s lawn. And, yes. This supersized version of an everyday object comes from the same famed pop artists who created the Nelson “Shuttlecocks” — Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. The Kemper’s sculpture, “Architect’s Handkerchief,” also takes a playful tack. It was inspired, Oldenburg has said, by the “flamboyant handkerchief” typically seen poking from the suit pocket of architect Mies van der Rohe. “It looks fantastic with the billowing curves of the hanky against the stark lines of the building,” said the Kemper’s director, Rachael Blackburn Cozad. “It’s a great scale for that spot.” “I also think it’s really fun with the other big pieces there — the Otterness (“Crying Giant”) and the Bourgeois (“Spider”). They all have the element of humor. I like the continuity.” “Architect’s Handkerchief,” a museum purchase, is one of an edition of three. The sculpture, which is made from fiber-reinforced plastic, has been displayed in shows in Italy, Portugal and New York, where it appeared in a 2002 exhibit of the couple’s work in the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. At the Kemper, the piece is placed on a small rise that adds to its elevation from the sidewalk a few yards away. The cutout pocket sits at a slight angle, with the whorl of white handkerchief spiraling out of it like creativity making its escape from the confines of the proverbial gray flannel suit. So strong is the suggestion of freedom that if you didn’t know it was a handkerchief, you might take it for a white bird. Van Bruggen has likened the piece to smoke coming out of the funnel of an ocean liner or “a sailboat tilting in the wind.” And it was her idea to incorporate a side view showing the handkerchief inside the pocket. Next month Oldenburg and van Bruggen’s “Shuttlecocks” will be back in the limelight with the Sept. 30 public reopening of the Kansas City Sculpture Park, now 33 sculptures strong, at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. In October the outdoor art juggernaut moves downtown with the unveiling of a new “art wall” for changing, billboard-format artworks on the south-facing side of the Town Pavilion parking garage. The project is sponsored by the Art in the Loop Foundation. Also this fall the city will dedicate the new Keith Sonnier “Monopole” light and waterwork at Kansas City International Airport. Next up? Keep an eye on Oppenstein Park downtown.
Posted Wed, Jul. 26, 2006 Midday Business Report: Power & Light construction begins By KEVIN COLLISON The Cordish Co. formally launched construction of its long-awaited Power & Light District project today at an event showcasing the design of the seven-block project scheduled to open in fall 2007. Large signboards displaying detailed architectural renderings of the buildings and landscaping planned for each block of the $800 million downtown redevelopment were part of a walking tour attended by Mayor Kay Barnes, City Manager Wayne Cauthen and other officials. The event signaled the end of the city’s role in the heavily subsidized project — assembling the site and building the infrastructure, including underground garages — and handing it off to Cordish to build its portion, which now includes 450,000 square feet of retail, a condominium-hotel tower and restoration of the Empire and Midland Theaters. “Construction begins this week and will not stop until the opening of the district,” Blake Cordish, the development official in charge, said today. “One of the things we’re excited to announce is the district will open in 2007.” Several major tenants have been confirmed so far, including Cosentino’s Gourmet Market, Bristol Seafood Grill and Lucky Strike, an upscale bowling alley. AMC Entertainment also is partnering with Cordish on the renovation of the Empire and Midland as a movie complex and live entertainment venue, respectively. More tenants are expected to be announced this fall and continuing as the opening of the district approaches. Cordish said the first businesses should begin opening by late next summer and a grand opening is expected in fall 2007. The Sprint Center arena is scheduled to open in October 2007. Cordish remains circumspect on leasing prospects. “The leasing has gone even better than expected,” he said. “We’re in the position of having choices of very quality tenants.”
Posted Sun, Jun. 25, 2006 Downtown condo market grows up Buyers and developers wonder if demand for units will underwhelm supply. By KEVIN COLLISON Kansas City condo living is moving beyond the pioneer stage, as developers prepare for a new wave of increasingly savvy urban settlers. The unanswered question is whether demand will match the oncoming supply — both in terms of price and amenities. Four big new high-rise condominium projects — each chockfull of amenities — are under construction or being actively planned. A fifth major high-rise, the renovation of the historic BMA Tower near Penn Valley Park, already is pushing the envelope of how much people are willing to pay for a mansion in the sky. All told, those five high-rises are expected to add about 500 units to the urban condo mix over the next several years. And that’s just the highest-profile, highest-dollar part of an emerging condo market that is taking particular aim at a demographic wave of empty-nesters opting for an urban lifestyle. “I know there’s a demand and a waiting list for these towers and I think they’ll start strong, but it depends on the price point,” said Christina Boveri of Boveri Realty Group. “I wish I knew how deep the market is. It’s kind of, ‘Wow, we’re going to ” have to live it and see what Kansas City can absorb,’ In the meantime, somewhat lower-profile, less expensive projects, typified by numerous conversions of existing apartment and office buildings to condos, are drawing younger buyers like 26-year-old Michelle Lockhart. Lockhart moved Memorial Day weekend from her apartment in southern Johnson County to the Coffee Lofts at 321 W. Seventh St. “I wanted to buy and I wanted a change of pace,” she said. “I was thinking about moving to a larger city and this was a compromise.” Developers are betting hundreds of millions of dollars that that there are enough households willing to come to a similar decision. New frontier Most observers of the urban core condo scene, an area that stretches from the Missouri River south to Brookside, say the market is healthy, particularly in more affordable price ranges. For the year through mid-June, the Urban Living Center reports that 655 lofts and condos have been sold or put under contract between the river and Brookside, more than sales for all of last year in that swathe of the city. Of those sold so far this year, 575 were priced at less than $400,000. Developers say the sweet spot in the market remains condos priced at less than $250,000, or selling in the $160- to $200-per-square-foot range. The market for properties priced at more than $500,000, meanwhile, is lagging — echoing a theme in the broader single-family housing market. “My impression is that across the board the demand for units has stayed very steady,” said Tom Trabon, the chairman of the Downtown Council’s housing committee. It’s clearly a growing market. Since January 2003, more than 2,100 condos have been sold in Jackson County alone, according to the Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors, and the vast majority of those were in the urban core. Those condo sales totaled more than $423 million, an average of $198,000. Despite all the attention given to a a new urban housing frontier, the total condo market in greater Kansas City, including projects being built in the suburbs, amounts to only 3 percent of the overall housing sales in the metropolitan area, according to a report by Integra Realty Resources. “At the end of the day, in Kansas City and a lot of other cities, the people willing to live in an undeveloped neighborhood like the central business district represent a niche market,” said Phillip Gesue, the New York developer behind the Metropolitan condo project downtown. Gesue said 80 percent of his project’s approximately 200 units have been sold since it opened two years ago. Many more potential buyers, he believes, are waiting for redevelopment projects like the Power & Light entertainment district and Sprint Center to be completed before making the plunge. “My perception is when Kansas City Live opens and people see the quality of life downtown, the market will get a little deeper,” he said. It’s been only four years since developer George Birt completed Conover Place, a comparatively small 32-unit condo project in the River Market and the first new for-sale downtown residential construction in a generation. Those units were quickly gobbled up, and Birt has followed with another new River Market condo project called Bridgeworks. Thirty-seven of its 47 condos have been purchased since it opened last year at prices ranging from $180,000 to $414,000. Birt, though, senses a shift in the marketplace. “The market now is a bit more competitive,” Birt said. “There is more product and more choices, and buyers are more knowledgeable about things like tax abatements. … Buyers are taking more time to make decisions because there’s more to look at.” Those choices are expected to increase soon. Some developers are thinking big — and raising the financial stakes — with several new high-rise projects. •Birt and partners are building 4646 Broadway, a 12-story tower with 18 units near the Country Club Plaza selling from $550,000 to $1.8 million. They’ve found buyers for half of those units so far. •The Cordish Co. of Baltimore, developer of the entertainment district, is expected to reveal its design soon for a 240-unit tower on the former Jones Store block that is expected to be at least 22 stories tall. •The Accardo family and DST Realty are planning a 17-story tower with up to 135 units at 18th Street and Broadway, with the possibility of another building later. •And the owners of the Power & Light Building want to build an 18-story tower with 95 units at 14th Street and Baltimore. All of those projects, though, stand in line behind the next major test for the high-end market. The renovation of the historic BMA Tower, which has been renamed One Park Place, will offer about 100 condos with sweeping views of the skyline and prices to match, averaging about $790,000 with several million dollar-plus units. The starkly contemporary tower, which has received national architectural awards, and its location on the park enticed SWD Communities, a California firm, to redevelop it. Backers are counting on outdoing any competitor when it comes to luxury. Amenities include a salt-water pool, cigar bar and a wine cellar with personal storage units. “We want to do things where we can create and do something significant,” said Bill Foote, chairman and chief executive officer of SWD. “This project had every element of what we’re looking for.” Foote, though, knows his project is in unfamiliar territory at the high end of the downtown condo market. “We can’t predict the future,” Foote said. “We felt if we were better, we’d capture that segment of the market. We don’t know what that is.” Waiting on the new construction sidelines — at least for now — is Crown Center. Backers of the urban redevelopment landmark ushered in the era of modern condo living when it built the 32-story San Francisco Tower in the mid-1970s. It’s now converting the seven-story Santa Fe Place apartment building into condos. Early last year, Crown Center began actively planning for more residential development, including the potential of additional condo towers. It’s been a slow, deliberate process. “We think the market has potential,” said Bill Lucas, president of Crown Center Redevelopment Corp. “But it’s a tricky equation to get right at the present time.” Sales at Santa Fe are going well, with 80 of the 110 units sold. But the prices are from $80,000 to $375,000, lower than what new construction would cost. “Our concern is there’s been a slowdown in the buying pace and at the higher price points,” Lucas said. “The issue is whether it’s a momentary blip or due to saturation of the urban market. It’s difficult to guess.” Demographic wave One crucial segment of the market that new high-rise condos are targeting is empty-nesters selling their houses and seeking a simpler lifestyle. Baby boomers approaching retirement are behind a demographic trend that housing experts expect to drive sales for years to come. A recent report by the Home Builders Association of Greater Kansas City found that half the households in the area had two persons or less. Only one out of every four households in the metro area was occupied by the traditional married couple with children, according to the 2000 census, down from 39 percent in 1970. Condo developers are taking note. “What gives us confidence is that throughout the nation, you’re seeing a groundswell of people looking to move downtown,” said Chris Accardo, spokesman for the 1800 Broadway project. “It’s a cultural mecca, when you look at the Performing Arts Center, sports, the Lyric Opera, museums and galleries. It’s not just an occasional treat but a way of life.” Brokers are following the action. Over the past couple of years, the Urban Living Center, the Boveri Realty Group, Prudential Kansas City Realty and Reece & Nichols Realtors each have opened downtown sales offices. “People are not buying shelter when they buy a condo, they’re buying a lifestyle,” said John Anderson of Prudential. “I think that marketplace, particularly with empty-nesters, is huge and we’ve just tapped the market.” Kim Weinberger, the broker-manager of the Urban Living Center, said there’s more product on the market these days, but said that’s a good thing. “Developers are positioning themselves for everything that’s going on downtown,” she said. “I’m glad we have the risk-takers. That’s why we’re here.” Boveri, though, sounded a note of caution about rising mortgage rates and the evolving supply-and-demand equation. “What I’ve seen is a definite slowdown,” she said. “Things are still selling, but there is an incredible number of incentives being offered these days.” One concern is the cost of condo construction in Kansas City. By some estimates, the new condos being planned may need to fetch upward of $300 per square foot to pencil out sufficient profits for developers. Boveri traveled recently to St. Louis to check out the downtown condo scene and found prices on average were about $40 per square foot cheaper for comparable condos. That could be a warning sign for current owners. “There is a concern about the value of what people are buying with all the other stuff coming in,” she said. Another wild card is the role of speculative investors, which some brokers estimate could represent about a quarter of the market. “People are buying condos as an investment and renting them out or flipping them in two years,” Boveri said. “We probably leased 40 condos since the beginning of the year.” Two of the new residents at Coffee Lofts fit the profile. They are living in one-bedroom condos their parents bought as an investment. “My mom wanted to get involved in downtown Kansas City,” said 18-year-old Rachel Smith, formerly of Lenexa. “I was planning on going to college, but decided to rent for awhile.” Her brother, Ryan, 20, also lives in the building while he attends college at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. “It’s really to get out of the Johnson County wasteland,” he said. Grant Lundberg, a Reece & Nichols agent, said one reason the condo market has softened is that people are waiting for new projects to consider before buying. “I think developers realize we’re at a turning point,” Lundberg said. “We’ve taken the first giant leap and they’re responding to get it to the next level.” The key is to develop projects that offer enough amenities at the right price to convince hundreds of buyers to make a long-term commitment. “With more projects coming on the market, people are waiting for the right thing,” Lundberg said. “If you’re an empty-nester, 55 years old or so, you’re looking at your investment as a long-term deal. “Nobody wants to buy the most expensive house on the block.”
Posted on Thu, Jun. 15, 2006 Downtown parking An innovative plan for part of Crossroads A perennial challenge in Kansas City’s urban core is how to increase parking. Many times the debates only lead to plans for more parking garages. But the Urban Society — a group of architects, developers and urban-core boosters — found a way to quickly and cheaply increase parking in one part of the Crossroads Arts District. The solution: Allow angle-in parking along Baltimore Avenue from 20th Street to the south freeway loop. The change will nearly double the number of parking spots to 200. Currently, only parallel parking is allowed. Urban Society member Kevin Klinkenberg says his group may be able to do a portion of the work — using private donations — for less than the city’s projected $22,000. The section of Baltimore involved is six lanes wide, counting existing parking lanes. It carries relatively little traffic. After a recent meeting with Urban Society members, City Hall agreed to the change. City Councilman Jim Glover said, “I would hope it would work well and can be translated in other areas.” Angle-in parking won’t work in many areas. But the city may be able to create more parking spaces by rearranging existing spaces or by cutting back on some of the many no-parking zones in the heart of the city.
Posted on Fri, Jun. 09, 2006 KC’s hub status is tied to space The area needs sites to seize opportunities and reach the national stage, a consultant says. By KEVIN COLLISON “If you want to do business, be ready to do business.” J. Michael Mullis Kansas City’s strategy of positioning itself as a national distribution hub is excellent, but the area needs more space readily available to seize opportunities, business leaders were told Thursday. “This has not been an area with a lot of speculative product,” J. Michael Mullis, a corporate site selection consultant, told several hundred people attending the annual State of One KC meeting. “Go to Chicago, Dallas and other areas and there’s a lot of product that can be available quickly.” Mullis, owner of Memphis, Tenn.-based J.M. Mullis Inc., told the audience that for the Kansas City area to be successful attracting new investment, it should have adequate development sites and facilities to back up the marketing effort. “If you want to do business, be ready to do business,” he said. Vacancy rates for area industrial space generally support his observation of a tight market. A recent survey by Integra Realty Resources found Jackson County reporting an 8 percent vacancy; Johnson County, 7.8 percent; Wyandotte County, 6 percent; and the Northland, 8.5 percent. The host for the event at the Overland Park Convention Center was the Kansas City Area Development Council, the umbrella organization for development agencies. The event was intended to highlight the development council’s two-year-old One KC national and regional marketing program. The development council recently purchased a 24-page advertorial section in Fortune magazine touting the area, and is underwriting a one-hour documentary film on the redevelopment of downtown Kansas City that it hopes to place on national cable television. Bob Marcusse, president and chief executive officer, said the organization has set a goal of attracting $500 million in new payroll over the next five years. It is focusing on a better national identity for Kansas City; luring major companies; recruiting new headquarters, primarily from smaller Midwest cities; and retaining and attracting smart people. “We need to get to the point where Kansas City is an excuse to take a job … rather than not take a job,” Marcusse said. The agency’s top goal is to capitalize on Kansas City’s position as a major railroad hub and attract national retail distribution centers. Particular attention is being paid to bringing exported goods produced in Asia directly from Mexican ports, bypassing California. Successes have included the recent announcement by Pacific Sunwear to build a $65 million distribution center in Olathe that ultimately will employ 250 people. Similar distribution facilities have been announced recently by Musician’s Friend, FedEx Ground Packaging System and American Eagle Outfitters. Mullis said the area must develop intermodal transportation facilities that allow goods brought by rail to be off-loaded to trucks and processed in the area or shipped to other destinations. Intermodal facilities now being developed or considered include the former Richards-Gebaur Airport in south Kansas City; vacant land near Kansas City International Airport, and a site near Gardner where BNSF wants to build a 300-acre facility. The Gardner project however, is encountering stiff neighborhood opposition. Mullis also praised KCI for its convenient air service. Mullis saluted Kansas for its recent decision to repeal the property tax on business equipment and machinery, and said Missouri has improved its employee training programs. If there was one sour note, it was Mullis’ skepticism that Kansas City would be able to do much to change its national identity, despite the efforts by the development council, which he described as one of the best economic development agencies in the country. He said that for many national business executives, Kansas City was lumped together with places like Columbus, Ohio, and Indianapolis. “The Midwest as a whole has always had to deal with identity issues,” Mullis said. “It’s not negative or positive, it’s neutral. Until you bring companies here, they don’t understand the quality of it.” http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/business/14774976.htm
Posted on Wed, May. 15, 2006 Protect the past County mulls a commission to preserve old buildings and artifacts THE EXAMINER The Jackson County Legislature is considering an historic resources commission, charged with preserving county buildings, objects and areas of cultural or historic significance. "I hope this results in a coherent policy, but not overly burdensome or bureaucratic, that preserves these historic resources," said Finance & Audit Committee Chair Scott Burnett. County Executive Katheryn Shields came up with the idea for the commission. The commission wouldn't have the power to put buildings or objects on the Jackson County Register of Historic Places, but would make recommendations to the Legislature. If legislators place a building on the historic register or it is a county-owned building more than 50 years old, no demolition or alteration of the building could occur without commission review. The commission would also inventory cultural resources in the county. The first priority would be to log all the furniture and fixtures from the 1930s era being stored at the courthouses on the Independence Square and in downtown Kansas City. Any items not permanently attached or in use would be relocated to a central storage area meeting museum storage criteria. Items remaining in use would be logged and could not be moved without approval. The commission would have seven voting members appointed by the county executive. One must be on the board of the Jackson County Historical Society. One must be on the board of the Historic Kansas City Foundation. Four must be professionals in areas of architecture, architecture history, archaeology, historic preservation planning, cultural anthropology, museum science, landscape architecture, history, government or social studies. One member is left to the discretion of the county executive. Non-voting board members would be the county parks director; public works director; facilities management director; and a county legislator appointed by the chairman of the Legislature. The county executive would hire a historic preservation manager to assist the commission. A public hearing is set for May 22, in the Finance & Audit Committee. Reach James Dornbrook at james.dornbrook@examiner.net or (816) 350-6322.
Posted on Wed, Mar. 08, 2006 UMKC architecture class wins grant for New Orleans project By STEVE
PAUL A University of Missouri-Kansas City architecture class devoted to rebuilding pieces of storm-ravaged New Orleans has landed the support of the federal government. The Department of Housing and Urban Development on Monday awarded a $274,000 grant to support the efforts of the studio class to study and plan for the recovery of a series of New Orleans neighborhoods. The class, led by Jacob Wagner and Vincent Gauthier, is focused on how cultural tourism can contribute to the revival and redevelopment of hard-hit and lesser-known business districts throughout the city. Class members are working at a time when local city planning ranks have been reduced severely by budget cuts. “This gives us confidence that what we set out to do was meaningful,” Wagner said by phone from New Orleans on Monday. “It increases our capacity to deliver some workable plans.” Gauthier and seven students returned to New Orleans Tuesday for their second research trip. The class is working in partnership with the Urban Conservancy, a New Orleans nonprofit involved in enhancing small-business development, sustainable design and neighborhood issues, especially outside the French Quarter and Garden District. “We have been talking about five distinct neighborhood corridors,” said Geoff Coats of the Urban Conservancy. The goal, Coats said, is to determine how existing businesses can contribute to and benefit from sensitively planned redevelopment of those districts. The grant is part of HUD’s Universities Rebuilding America Partnership, which was launched last fall to help communities affected by Hurricane Katrina. The agency on Monday awarded $5 million to 16 universities. Posted on Wed, Mar. 01, 2006 18th
Street jazzes up Mardi Gras celebration To the east, the 18th and Vine jazz district held its first Mardi Gras celebration. It kicked off at the American Jazz Museum, and revelers planned to last through the night at two of the city’s live jazz venues, the Blue Room and the Mutual Musicians Foundation. Police barricaded streets and partygoers downed cocktails, swaying their hips to the stylings of local jazz and zydeco musicians. To the west, the Crossroads Arts District continued its eight-year tradition celebrating Mardi Gras at 18th and Wyandotte streets. Hurricane Katrina-themed parade floats by local musicians and artists lined the street, and jazz musicians performed for revelers cloaked in flashy costumes, donning Mardi Gras masks and glittery beads. Organizers planned for the two parties to converge by midnight on Fat Tuesday in the jazz district at the Mutual Musicians Foundation. They hope that an extended parade route along 18th Street between the two neighborhoods will become a lasting Mardi Gras tradition. “It’s a long street with a lot of empty spaces in between, but the idea is that crisscrossing of Kansas City, east and west,” said Sherrill Mulhern, president of Alliance Francaise de Kansas City. This year’s jazz district celebration was held by the Urban Core Group and Alliance Francaise de Kansas City. It was spurred by the desire to help rebuild lives affected by Hurricane Katrina. At the jazz museum, they held a silent auction to raise money for hurricane evacuees in Kansas City. They auctioned Mardi Gras masks made by youths from the Kansas City Housing Authority and sold Mardi Gras beads. David Ford, owner of YJ’s Snack Bar, started the Mardi Gras block party in the Crossroads Arts District years ago. He expected that more than 1,000 people were out Tuesday celebrating, thanks to the good weather. He hoped the celebration would bring the city together. In the jazz district, Bridget Chinyere and her friend Chandra Isaiah said that the celebration there didn’t quite compare to the New Orleans celebration they’d gone to the past four years. They missed the big parades, the beads, the hoopla. “We like New Orleans style better, but this is good. It’s definitely better than sitting at home,” Chinyere said. At the Crossroads celebration, New Orleans jazz bass player Micah Herman had decorated his fishing boat from Louisiana with fishing poles and a sign that read, “Department of Homeland Insecurity’s New Orleans Musician Retraining Program.” The Mardi Gras celebration was especially important this year, he said. “That’s what happens when people die — they move on,” he said. “It’s like jazz funerals. It starts with a dirge, but then it becomes joyous. That’s what life is about.” Posted on
Tue, Jan. 17, 2006 By MATT CAMPBELL They are the downtown Kansas City holdouts. They dug in and braved the lean times, staying while stores closed because downtown offices went dark, while factories shut down as work went overseas, and while professionals followed their clients to the suburbs. Now the pulse of life is coming back to downtown. Some of the holdouts — including an eye doctor, a real estate visionary and a couple who own a jewelry store — say it’s about time. Since 2000, more than $1.2 billion has been invested in the downtown office market, from the Missouri River to 31st Street, and more than $500 million in the residential market, according to the Downtown Council. That’s quite a change from 10 to 15 years ago when one business’s attempt to form a downtown merchants association could attract only eight merchants. They were about all that was left from the bustling streets and lively storefronts in the 1940s and 1950s. Posted
on Thu, November
18, 2005 Kansas City, Missouri, November 18: Before a sold-out crowd of over 800 people, the Downtown Council presented Jonathan Kemper, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Commerce Bank(Kansas City) with the J. Philip Kirk, Jr. Award in Recognition of Downtown Stewardship and Community Visions. This award is presented annually by the Downtown Council to leaders whose vision, guidance and commitment have helped set Downtown Kansas City on a clear path for revitalization. The award’s namesake, J. Philip Kirk Jr., epitomizes these qualities. The Downtown Council also announced its inaugural class of its Urban Heroes, a new recognition program to honor individuals(both volunteers and entrepreneurs), small businesses and organizations who are passionate about making Downtown Kansas City a more vibrant place to live, work and play by improving the physical, social, business, retail, manufacturing, office, neighborhood or work environment. The focus is on recognizing the “un-sung” heroes that took risks in the past and are creating excitement in Downtown today. The selection panel consisted of representatives from the Downtown Council, partner organizations, such as the Crossroads Community Association, River Market Business Association, an elected official and other community representatives. The 2005 Honorees are: • Marilyn
Block: treasurer and board member of the Crossroads Community
Association The Downtown
Council also announced its new officers: The highlight of the luncheon was the Cultural Arts and Downtown Development Panel which discussed the catalytic effect of the cultural arts on Downtown. Moderated by Joel Nichols with Channel 9 News, the panel consisted of Kay Barnes, mayor of Kansas City, Missouri; Julia Irene Kauffman, chairman/CEO, Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation and chairman of the board and president, Metropolitan Kansas City Performing Arts Center; Michael Stern, music director for the Kansas City Symphony; Reeves Wiedeman, partner with Helix Architecture and president of American Institute for Architects Kansas City; and, Peter Yelorda, executive vice president and chief administrative officer of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City, chairman of the Jazz District Redevelopment Corporation, and chairman of the TIF Commission. download
full press release (click here!)
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