urbanSTL

Downtown KC getting closer to 30K population, expected to rise significantly next 5 years with more units in pipleline.  Though it's 'Greater Downtown', which is about 30x20 blocks.

https://www.downtownkc.org/wp-content/u ... Report.pdf



And growing among tops with younger too.  But I wonder how much longer that can last with rates now going for over $2.50/sqft.

Pretty hard to dispute that KC's downtown has smoked past St. Louis. 15 years ago, their downtown was desolate, now it's becoming a residential/development hub of the region. 

New Project - Central Business District: Apartment building at 9th & Wyandotte.

Per KCRAG updates this week: 

The garage on the southeast corner of 9th and Wyandotte is under contract and the lot is to become apartments.

New utility markings on 9th and in the alley today. No permits, but I did notice an alley vacation request listed as under review

An apartment project was previously proposed for this site (see below). The new development is by a different group.

Another building to add more density. More residents are nice too. I hope it's a good looking building that they propose. Big or small, it will be nice to fill in a vacant lot. 

Yeah the infill momentum is finally starting to occur.  River Market has a plausible plan for essentially every remaining lot.  Downtown Loop needs to develop the massive lots W of 7th/Main.  And Xroads is getting infill but still so many lots to go, and the ones along Main/streetcar especially need to be developed first.

hobo digitale wrote: ↑

Feb 21, 2020

Yeah the infill momentum is finally starting to occur.  River Market has a plausible plan for essentially every remaining lot.  Downtown Loop needs to develop the massive lots W of 7th/Main.  And Xroads is getting infill but still so many lots to go, and the ones along Main/streetcar especially need to be developed first.

If development and demand holds up at the levels where it is now, this decade could be transformational for the Downtown area more so than the 2010s. KC Downtown is becoming more and more vibrant and the streetcar connects a lot of useful things together. The streetcar extension to UMKC will only make things boom more. 

The North Loop area of Downtown is ripe for some midrise infill. That's what I expect to see rise there. River Market area would be the same way. Crossroads will be where some mid-high rises start showing up. Reverb and Arterra are two buildings in that range. Tracks 215 will be another. Those will be good sizes. Actual high-rises, similar to Loews and 1 & 2 Light, would probably rise close to the highway area. 

To my understanding, Downtown KC doesn't seem to have any major abandoned buildings with no redevelopment plan in the works or announced. If my assumption is true, most projects that we will start seeing down there will all be new construction. I just hope the boom holds up. There's a real chance to create a truly create a mega-downtown along Main Street from the River Market to the Plaza. Lots of untapped opportunities along the way.  

^Yeah and the upside to the streetcar being only 2.2 miles is that it creates density TOD focused in that area.  By the time streetcar expansion is running, downtown will be mostly filled in and Midtown will be hot for denser infill/redevelopment.  If 30+ miles were created at once, it would only help sprawl with no particularly highly densified districts.

hobo digitale wrote: ↑

Feb 26, 2020

^Yeah and the upside to the streetcar being only 2.2 miles is that it creates density TOD focused in that area.  By the time streetcar expansion is running, downtown will be mostly filled in and Midtown will be hot for denser infill/redevelopment.  If 30+ miles were created at once, it would only help sprawl with no particularly highly densified districts.

All is true. I'm glad the streetcar is focusing on the central part of KC just because that's where a lot of momentum is right now. More residents, workers, and visitors in an area creates higher transit usage. 

It wouldn't be a bad idea to eventually take the streetcar way South of the Plaza or extend it North to North KC and other areas. I would like to see a Light Rail connection to the airport at some point. The streetcar could become Light Rail but it would cost a ton since the airport is a but far and I'm not sure what the top speed of a streetcar vehicle is. More BRT routes would be good to connect to other major job centers in the region. Give them bus lanes, signal priority and you got a pretty good system to connect you to other places.

^Yeah and the upside to the streetcar being only 2.2 miles is that it creates density TOD focused in that area.  By the time streetcar expansion is running, downtown will be mostly filled in and Midtown will be hot for denser infill/redevelopment.  If 30+ miles were created at once, it would only help sprawl with no particularly highly densified districts.

IE Metrolink 

Back to KC, a leg of the streetcar that connects the West Bottoms to downtown would provide a lot of bang for its buck. The precedent for density is already there along with a bit of development momentum. Unfortunately the area is completely separated from downtown by a cliff and interstate 35. With a decent connection to downtown, West Bottoms can become a premier urban neighborhood similar to Milwaukee's 3rd Ward. 

It may require an expensive bridge to get down the cliff, but the proximity is there. Then when in in the bottoms you can choose to turn south to cover the HyVee arena and American Royale Center, or keep going west across an existing bridge into KCK. Outside of the route connecting to Westport and UMKC, this is the lowest hanging fruit on the tree. 

KC Riverfront Development:


Streetcar: Port KC recently filed a Master Plan Update which includes a few changes (ex. roundabout vacation) needed to support the streetcar extension to the riverfront.

Phase 2: Northpoint's 346 unit apartment project continues to move forward for parcel 12. It has been going through the permitting and recently got a few of the necessary approvals. A 7 story hotel is slated to go in just to the north of the NP Project on parcel 12.


Phase 3:
Parcel 3: The developer and details have yet to be announced but from Port KC interviews and recent filings with the city(below) we know there is one and we know generally what they want to built. The 1st project in the 3rd phase will be 2- 10 story apartment buildings with a 5 floor parking garage. 560 units, 636 parking spaces, 700k SQFT. I saw renderings for this project once and I think the twin tower design looks great. 

I think it's time to fast track the streetcar extension to the Riverfront. With thousands of new residents living there, it would be a good opportunity for people to leave their cars behind if they wish to venture into the areas along the route. Once the extension to UMKC/Plaza is finished, then you really won't need a car to get places along the route.

I saw the zoning request quote on Kcrag.

“The applicant is requesting the following modifications to the current approved MPD Plan:
1. Amend the existing uses to allow for hotel.
2. Modify the street layout to remove the roundabout at the intersection of Berkley Parkway and E.
Riverfront drive. This is as a result of the street car line extension.
3. Increase the overall density for the development.
4. Increase the building height to unlimited for the development.”

Let’s hope developers take advantage of the unlimited height allowance for the remaining plots. I’ve heard the ultimate vision was for Berkley Riverfront to resemble the South Waterfront development in Portland, OR

KC Streetcar:

February Ridership numbers are out. 28% YOY increase in ridership for the month. 156k+ total riders in February; 8.1+ million lifetime;

So far in 2020, the streetcar has averaged 5812 riders per day. It is amazing to ridership in the dead of winter being double the originally proposed yearly average.

The streetcar is a success because it connects 4 things of interest (River Market, Downtown, Crossroads and Crown Center) and is free. I can't wait until the extensions are done. The numbers will soar very high since you'll be adding in the Riverfront and multiple other neighborhoods. 

UMKC (Streetcar Adjacent):

With the streetcar coming soon, UMKC is developing a new campus master plan that will be officially rolled out this fall. The first project to be announced is the demolition of "Oak Place Apartments" and a small retail/parking strip (see map). The apartments didn't front the adjacent trail or new streetcar at all so it is great to see them go. A large new retail/housing development, similar to Brookside 51 just to the south, will be built where Oak Place was. No timeline for the new project has been given but I think it will happen sooner rather than later as they have been in a big hurt for more dorms.




Oak Place Apartments - to be bulldozed


Brookside 51 (with Whole Foods) 

What a massive waste of a 13 year old building. I hope it's a 30 year plan or so. 

^It was riddled with mold and water issues.  UMKC sued those involved in construction and reached a settlement.  A better TOD design is happening, with streetcar in mind. A new UMKC master plan is happening with streetcar in mind.  So not a bad thing this happened.

hobo digitale wrote:

chriss752 wrote: ↑

Mar 04, 2020

The streetcar is a success because it connects 4 things of interest (River Market, Downtown, Crossroads and Crown Center) and is free. I can't wait until the extensions are done. The numbers will soar very high since you'll be adding in the Riverfront and multiple other neighborhoods. 

It's more like a horizontal elevator that connects downtown together seamlessly.   But when it expands, it may struggle with trying to be both commuter and local service.  I think they should focus on local and overlay an express MAX line on top.

The streetcar will be a lot more of an express ride than Main Street Max is. I think the streetcar down main should be fine. Any additional routes I believe should be center running or dedicated row though. I also think longer trains will be needed eventually.

Posted on KCRag by ScooterJ, the crane for the Hyatt House is going up.

^That's the actual local Google office next door, not just an ad.   There are a couple small Google divisions in there as well as Google Fiber admin office.

Reverb - KC Crossroads

Building has been topped off. Move ins are expected to start in June


Hyatt House: Quality Hill

Construction crane is up

New renderings released for the proposed South Loop Deck cover
https://www.ojb.com/project/kansas-city-deck-park