KCRag Forum

Look, that wall has three different colors for the buildings.

my lack of sympathy comes from a belief that more buildings will fill the other empty spots, thus diminishing the "light" impact on the skyline.

Understandable. My take is a general 'no more cookie cutter projects' downtown in general. It will be a re-occurring theme from me for all future projects in the city core. We've allowed enough given how badly downtown has needed development. But the momentum is good enough now to start expecting better than monotony.

earthling wrote:But the momentum is good enough now to start expecting better than monotony.

absolutely, but i do stand firm that the skyline impact is a lesser part of the equation. one light does an amazing job at the street level, compared to practically everything else built in KC in the last decade or two.

Cordish did a great job at streetlevel and also generally no cookie cutter with the retail buildings. But so far it appears that the residential buildings will lean that way. No harm in trying to sway against a wall of monotony if still possible to sway. I'm not saying don't do the project if not, just can it be swayed to mix things up a bit more with Three/Four lights and if they do Convention Hotel. If no one even suggests it, won't happen.

No one has pointed out that the 2,3,& 4 Lights stairstep in height, reflecting the height differences of the Big 3 postmodern towers lined up directly behind them on 12th St.

I hadn't noticed. That's actually kind of neat looking.

I love this forum! You anonymous people truly entertain me. That being said, I very much respect the passion I read in the posts and the knowledge gained. Now back to that glass; particularly on the new LIVE CONVENTION HOTEL!

^Several got involved with the City maybe because of this site. I'm heading there as the 'cookie cutter police'. You're welcome!

I could do without some of the passion. I wish this site were split in two - one area for news, one for comments.

When people don't care, you get a snowball effect of poorer and poorer projects/execution. Developers will do things as cheaply and/or repetitious as possible if no one cares. The passion isn't nearly high enough in KC. KC is often noted for being content with the sub-par. With the momentum and attraction of more developers, now is the time to get more involved.

The problem is more that we're talking in circles in two different threads about this. All of our views have been stated, and now it's basically more of a "you hang up, no you hang up" exchange between everyone.

Yeah nearly every emotional or hot thread does that for the most part but that is the case with any forum anywhere on any topic. Airport thread constantly goes in circles, probably the hottest topic, and it should! (I intentionally re-state same point as many appear to do, can step it down a notch).

Notice that when topics get hot, the forum overall becomes much more active.

Which is why the airport thread has become hard to read as well. There are only like 12 people that regularly post here. We all know each other's position.

WoodDraw wrote:Which is why the airport thread has become hard to read as well. There are only like 12 people that regularly post here. We all know each other's position.

Pfft nuh uh, no one knows my position.

Earthling, I've been following KC development and politics since the early '80s. (I know I'm not alone on here.) I can't think of a time since when there was more caring about the state and future of the core and the city. I'm glad you care, too. And, really, I'm glad you're passionate.

Updated Renderings courtesy of cityscenekc.com

http://cityscenekc.com/new-renderings-o ... dead-zone/

Not really sure if anything has been changed in the main rendering, but it does confirm the full glass facade and there's still no "Live!" signage.

New Renderings of Planned Convention Hotel Show Transformation of Current Downtown Dead Zone

When I read the headline (misread actually), I thought the story was about how the hotel was redesigned to make the Baltimore frontage more pedestrian-friendly and more active use, i.e. retail, and restaurant/bars with outdoor seating, etc.

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pash wrote:I see no reason to revise my earlier prediction: this poorly designed hotel is going to extend the dead atmosphere of the convention district into the Crossroads.

I predict it will be the exact opposite.

800 hotel rooms will add hundreds of people to the surrounding area. The 16th St streetcar stop will be busy day and night.

Families will walk up and down Baltimore and Wyandotte and 16th St, reaching places that don't exist today.