KCRag Forum

What other empty lots are we talking about? Sure, this could go in East Village but it’d be nowhere near Kauffman, KC Ballet, etc. Besides the original Crossroads lots, where can this go that would allow walking distance to other arts venues, and if public transport will be used from a further distance, why not just put on campus with streetcar extension.

beautyfromashes wrote:What other empty lots are we talking about? Sure, this could go in East Village but it’d be nowhere near Kauffman, KC Ballet, etc. Besides the original Crossroads lots, where can this go that would allow walking distance to other arts venues, and if public transport will be used from a further distance, why not just put on campus with streetcar extension.

SW corner 12th/Broadway
The 18th/Broadway garden, always intended to be temporary
The west side of the 1600 block of Wyandotte

But who said it had to be empty? One article said they were considering building reuse too.

^Agree that the free streetcar ties everything together so any lot within 3 blocks of streetcar is game - and there are many. 6th-8th/Main area has massive contiguous lots, Xroads still has far too many. RM infill is in good shape, seems most lots have some kind of plan if even early/uncertain proposals.

But also agree we shouldn't try to stop BAP... just stating surface lots should ideally be encouraged first, BAP is not as bad as surface lots.

earthling wrote:^Agree that the free streetcar ties everything together so any lot within 3 blocks of streetcar is game - and there are many. 6th-8th/Main area has massive contiguous lots, Xroads still has far too many. RM infill is in good shape, seems most lots have some kind of plan if even early/uncertain proposals.

But also agree we shouldn't try to stop BAP... just stating surface lots should ideally be encouraged first, BAP is not as bad as surface lots.

That's all I'm saying.

I'm also not sure about the return on investment at BAP. Even if it were well designed, that block is just not going to be a huge destination for people outside of those staying at the hotels. There is almost no residential surrounding it and one large office building for a few people to have lunch there. It will never be place suburbanites randomly visit due to parking issues and lack of basic amenities.

If there is money that the city has to help develop BAP, I think it would be far more beneficial to redirect that to decking 670 with a park that will be used and seen by far more people.

But, if it’s not in close proximaty to Kauffman, does it even matter where it is as long as it is close to the streetcar? And, since the campus is on the streetcars extension, why not just put it there? I think it has to be close for synergy sake or put it on campus to build the university. Splitting the campus with no immediate connection doesn’t make sense.

The BAP would be a lousy location for the Conservatory. And the way it is built now it is a lousy location for a park. Reason, the park should be more in line with the street grade on the three sides.
Best solution? Blow up the garage, go deeper with a new garage and with the space above terrace the park to make it more hospitable to pedestrians coming from the south, southeast and southwest. Not sure how one would incorporate the entrance/exit to the garage but am sure it could be done without too much effort.

Or just eliminate the park entirely and build a new garage that goes above and below ground. The current garage holds about 1,000 cars I believe. Build a garage that holds up to 2,000 cars. The city has been trying to do something with that park space for over 25 years now. Nothing really works. For most of the time there is dead space on the south and west so no traffic from there. You have hotels on the north and east sides but that block best serves the hotels as parking not parkland for hotel users.

Anyone with any information on what is going on this site. Please not parking

It will be interesting to see now that Greitens is gone if the state share of funding will be reinstated for the UMKC Conservatory project.

FangKC wrote:It will be interesting to see now that Greitens is gone if the state share of funding will be reinstated for the UMKC Conservatory project.

Reinstated? It was never instated to begin with, the governor vetoed instating it.

The whole legislative process needs to start over. Watch bills introduced in the next session of the legislature

IIRC that particular deal is dead since the local funds were withdrawn.

There would likely need to be a new local deal in place before legislation could advance.

I believe it was a Republican in the Northland who sponsored the bill but, cannot recall his name.

KCTOGA wrote:I believe it was a Republican in the Northland who sponsored the bill but, cannot recall his name.

Noel Shull, represents the Shoal Creek area
https://www.house.mo.gov/MemberDetails. ... &year=2018

HCR 19

My understanding was that this space was no longer available?

WoodDraw wrote:My understanding was that this space was no longer available?

Correct

https://cityscenekc.com/downtown-umkc-a ... n-the-mix/

Does anyone know why the past location is completely off the table?
Collision keeps demanding that property will never be used for UMKC but offers no details.
Sounds like hard feelings when the deal fell through and a sob story.
17th & Broadway is easily the best and only location for UMKC.

BAP is a joke of a location - It has to be the worse possible choice (other than East Village).
The city seems to continue kicking itself in the behind with these stupid ideas.

I haven't heard of any sale of the 17th & Broadway property site or any other plans to develop it otherwise.
Has anyone else have facts about it?
It's one thing to back out completely after Grietens blew the entire deal up.
But unless the property has hard development plans and $$ in place, anything is possible down the road.

Why not just build the 3rd and smallest building of the PAC like it was originally planned?

anonkcmo wrote:Does anyone know why the past location is completely off the table?
Collision keeps demanding that property will never be used for UMKC but offers no details.
Sounds like hard feelings when the deal fell through and a sob story.
17th & Broadway is easily the best and only location for UMKC.

BAP is a joke of a location - It has to be the worse possible choice (other than East Village).
The city seems to continue kicking itself in the behind with these stupid ideas.

I haven't heard of any sale of the 17th & Broadway property site or any other plans to develop it otherwise.
Has anyone else have facts about it?
It's one thing to back out completely after Grietens blew the entire deal up.
But unless the property has hard development plans and $$ in place, anything is possible down the road.

I certainly agree with the BAP location being a joke. I actually can't think of a worse location than that for UMKC. It would be an isolated island of buildings for UMKC not really tied to the urban fabric of the city at all. BAP needs to be redeveloped into a more usable public space that simply hides the garage under it and gives conventioneers etc a place to go. Install some art sculptures or something and concentrate on developing other blocks. Downtown KC needs more public space, so it makes no sense to develop something like BAP when there are so many empty lots all over the downtown area. Why would UMKC students have any desire to be in an isolated walled in piece of land blocks from the streetcar surrounded by massive walls of the convention center, municipal auditorium and hotels?

Just my opinion.

anonkcmo wrote: BAP is a joke of a location - It has to be the worse possible choice (other than East Village).
The city seems to continue kicking itself in the behind with these stupid ideas.

Putting a music and theater teaching facility across the street from the Music Hall, two blocks from the Performing Arts Center, caddy corner from the Foley Theater one direction and caddy corner from the Midland Theater another direction is a horrible location? There's almost no better location for them to share facilities.

It would be on the E-W bus spine and two blocks from the streetcar, two blocks closer than the spot on Broadway they were looking at (three blocks E, one block S to 19th stop)

^ there is more to it than that. From an urban planning perspective it's not a good location. Maybe they will blow my mind with the design of the new BAP and I'll eat my words.

Yeah I don't understand how BAP wouldn't work. If anything it would be less isolated there than the other spot