Old KCPS HQ - 12th & McGee

Issues concerning Downtown as described by the Downtown Council. River to 31st Street, I-35 to Bruce R. Watkins.
anonkcmo
Pad site
Pad site
Posts: 87
Joined: Wed May 23, 2018 11:26 am

Re: Drury Plaza Hotel

Post by anonkcmo »

im2kull wrote: Sat Aug 04, 2018 2:56 pm This is literally right next door to the Sprint Center.You must be confusing locations. Any small development, especially at the expense of a tower tear down in that area of DT is unacceptable.
I'm aware of the location. Most of the surrounding buildings are not 10 stories.
To reiterate, I don't agree with the proposal and the city needs to push back hard.
I think a 7-8 floor building would be fine as long as it interacts better with the street than the BoE building (which is dismal), uses concrete and has a classic design to match the civic district.
User avatar
Highlander
City Center Square
City Center Square
Posts: 10168
Joined: Mon Jun 28, 2004 1:40 pm
Location: Houston

Re: Drury Plaza Hotel

Post by Highlander »

Here is the only description of the project that I have seen. I've tried searching the net for a more detailed description but could not find anything. It's a big project for being so under-the-radar. No mention in the Star and nothing in the business journal as far as I can tell (nothing turns up using their search engine).

The TIF Commission received an application from Drury Southwest, Inc. (“Drury”) for a
proposed West Government District TIF Plan, which shall provide for abating and
demolishing the existing Kansas City Public Library Board of Education Building and
constructing in its place a Drury Plaza Hotel, which shall consist of approximately 242 hotel
rooms and 5,000 square feet of meeting room space, along with the construction of an
approximately 176 square foot garage.


No mention that this project will take the entire block. No mention that it will not either, it simply says replace the existing building with the hotel and a 176 sq ft (surely a typo) garage. Very vague and unheralded for such a large project. It seems that if they were planning to use the entire block, they would most likely opt for surface parking rather than a garage though.
User avatar
Chris Stritzel
Penntower
Penntower
Posts: 2294
Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2017 9:27 pm

Re: Drury Plaza Hotel

Post by Chris Stritzel »

The Parking Garage thing seems like a gimmick to get more subsidies but other than that, I hope it is designed well. I will wait to see the renderings of it. Hopefully it has some height like the one in Nashville or the recently announced Hyatt House on Broadway.
User avatar
alejandro46
Alameda Tower
Alameda Tower
Posts: 1350
Joined: Fri Feb 02, 2018 11:24 pm
Location: King in the North(Land)

Re: Drury Plaza Hotel

Post by alejandro46 »

Looks like a 10-story project. If they smartened up the exterior a bit from this rendering (a little more modern and urban please) I don't hate it. Is the parking garage under the building or adjacent? Hard to tell. For that prime lot, a 2-story parking garage is on par with as bad as a 4 story hotel.

https://cityscenekc.com/drury-wants-to- ... ith-hotel/

Image
User avatar
normalthings
Mark Twain Tower
Mark Twain Tower
Posts: 8018
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2015 9:52 pm

Re: Drury Plaza Hotel

Post by normalthings »

alejandro46 wrote: Tue Aug 07, 2018 7:39 am Looks like a 10-story project. If they smartened up the exterior a bit from this rendering (a little more modern and urban please) I don't hate it. Is the parking garage under the building or adjacent? Hard to tell. For that prime lot, a 2-story parking garage is on par with as bad as a 4 story hotel.

https://cityscenekc.com/drury-wants-to- ... ith-hotel/

Image
If you zoom in you can see the parking lot is behind the hotel. Also, if you zoom in you can see the street interface is horrible on the sides. I'm not getting the point of them keeping the old garage and building a new one. Also, I see no reason why they couldn't bundle this with more rooms or residential or even some office to better the numbers and reduce the need for TIF
mykn

Re: Drury Plaza Hotel

Post by mykn »

normalthings wrote: Tue Aug 07, 2018 7:46 am
alejandro46 wrote: Tue Aug 07, 2018 7:39 am Looks like a 10-story project. If they smartened up the exterior a bit from this rendering (a little more modern and urban please) I don't hate it. Is the parking garage under the building or adjacent? Hard to tell. For that prime lot, a 2-story parking garage is on par with as bad as a 4 story hotel.

https://cityscenekc.com/drury-wants-to- ... ith-hotel/

Image
If you zoom in you can see the parking lot is behind the hotel. Also, if you zoom in you can see the street interface is horrible on the sides. I'm not getting the point of them keeping the old garage and building a new one. Also, I see no reason why they couldn't bundle this with more rooms or residential or even some office to better the numbers and reduce the need for TIF
Yea that's terrible. Seriously, throw a bunch of restaurants and bars in front of rear parking garage, they would be prime spots for events at the sprint center and a "safe" place for out of towners staying at the hotel to hang out at. Put some apartments on top of those, activate that street.
User avatar
normalthings
Mark Twain Tower
Mark Twain Tower
Posts: 8018
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2015 9:52 pm

Re: Drury Plaza Hotel

Post by normalthings »

This site had been included in copakens most recent rendering right? I'd rather see it turned into something like Copaken had been presenting
kcjak
Penntower
Penntower
Posts: 2429
Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2007 3:02 pm

Re: Drury Plaza Hotel

Post by kcjak »

This would be the closest hotel to the Sprint Center (with maybe exception of new Holiday Inn Express) - it's a shame they couldn't build the hotel portion over the public single-story garage, which is only a short half-block away. We go to Zoo Bar often before event at Sprint Center and that area is completely devoid of life.
flyingember
Mark Twain Tower
Mark Twain Tower
Posts: 9862
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2012 7:54 am

Re: Drury Plaza Hotel

Post by flyingember »

It's a literal design reuse that was originally created for a suburban spot right next to the freeway in Minneapolis.
It's why it's so bad.

https://finance-commerce.com/2018/01/dr ... oomington/


https://www.google.com/maps/place/3901+ ... ,+MN+55435
User avatar
KCPowercat
Ambassador
Posts: 33828
Joined: Mon Oct 07, 2002 12:49 pm
Location: Quality Hill
Contact:

Re: Drury Plaza Hotel

Post by KCPowercat »

Hard pass.
shinatoo
Ambassador
Posts: 7392
Joined: Wed Jan 19, 2005 3:20 pm

Re: Drury Plaza Hotel

Post by shinatoo »

Looks like every other Drury built in the last ten years. Specifically the one next to the mall in Chesterfield Mo. The street-level environment around that one is pure depressing shit. The only design element considered was "How can we make ourselves look good to advertise to people on the highway?"
User avatar
DaveKCMO
Ambassador
Posts: 20039
Joined: Sun Nov 27, 2005 6:22 pm
Location: Crossroads
Contact:

Re: Drury Plaza Hotel

Post by DaveKCMO »

There's no way Planning buys off on all of those blank walls, especially with a TIF and being caddy-corner from City Hall (although they got the shaft from the Dunn building).
User avatar
rxlexi
Penntower
Penntower
Posts: 2290
Joined: Sun Dec 14, 2003 10:30 pm
Location: Briarcliff

Re: Drury Plaza Hotel

Post by rxlexi »

Yeah, this is bad. It's nice we're at a place where we can turn up our noses to a 10-story hotel east of Grand downtown, but at minimum, this should receive zero incentives. It's right next to Sprint Center! A 2-story parking garage with no retail wrap! A Chesterfield Mall generic design!

Hoping this will either be heavily re-designed or not incentivized, in which case they can throw up whatever schlock they so choose, I suppose.

If this were a surface lot, perhaps further east, I would feel very differently. But man that's a nice site, with a fairly solid existing building in place.
User avatar
TheLastGentleman
Broadway Square
Broadway Square
Posts: 2908
Joined: Tue Jun 13, 2017 9:27 pm

Re: Drury Plaza Hotel

Post by TheLastGentleman »

“We feel an upscale-type product would resonate well.”
“We try to fit with the local architecture,” Wedemeier said. “I feel strongly the end result will be something Kansas City will be proud of.”
Lies. It's all lies.
User avatar
beautyfromashes
One Park Place
One Park Place
Posts: 7188
Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2005 11:04 am

Re: Drury Plaza Hotel

Post by beautyfromashes »

Planning just needs to give a straight, “No!” to this plan. I find that often they try to give reasons to not approve and in the negotiation we end up with something worse. Just say no. No reason to give a reason. It’s so far from what the city needs, it’s not even worth a negotiation.
User avatar
normalthings
Mark Twain Tower
Mark Twain Tower
Posts: 8018
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2015 9:52 pm

Re: Drury Plaza Hotel

Post by normalthings »

I would maybe be persuaded to accept this general design if it was maybe 4 times as tall and came with no garage.
User avatar
FangKC
City Hall
City Hall
Posts: 18141
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2003 10:02 pm
Location: Old Northeast -- Indian Mound

Re: Drury Plaza Hotel

Post by FangKC »

Business Journal story:

https://tinyurl.com/ycb4kkjl
User avatar
FangKC
City Hall
City Hall
Posts: 18141
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2003 10:02 pm
Location: Old Northeast -- Indian Mound

Re: Drury Plaza Hotel

Post by FangKC »

I don't know why Drury doesn't just build on the southern third of the block, on the 1200 Oak garage footprint, and then just sell the BOE building to someone who would redevelop the tower portion to apartments, and the base for office. The base floors are set up nicely to handle an engineering or architectural firm.
User avatar
FangKC
City Hall
City Hall
Posts: 18141
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2003 10:02 pm
Location: Old Northeast -- Indian Mound

Re: Drury Plaza Hotel

Post by FangKC »

flyingember wrote: Tue Aug 07, 2018 8:43 am It's a literal design reuse that was originally created for a suburban spot right next to the freeway in Minneapolis.
It's why it's so bad.

https://finance-commerce.com/2018/01/dr ... oomington/


https://www.google.com/maps/place/3901+ ... ,+MN+55435
TheLastGentleman wrote: Tue Aug 07, 2018 10:40 am
“We feel an upscale-type product would resonate well.”
“We try to fit with the local architecture,” Wedemeier said. “I feel strongly the end result will be something Kansas City will be proud of.”
Lies. It's all lies.
Yes, they appear to have really made an effort to fit with local architecture by reusing a building design pitched in city after city. :D

It could be worse. Look at this horror show.

https://www.google.com/maps/@29.5894915 ... 312!8i6656

Why did they build such a big garage, and place the tower on top of it, when the hotel's location is suburban and there is so much land around it?

https://www.google.com/maps/@29.5913144 ... a=!3m1!1e3
User avatar
DaveKCMO
Ambassador
Posts: 20039
Joined: Sun Nov 27, 2005 6:22 pm
Location: Crossroads
Contact:

Re: Drury Plaza Hotel

Post by DaveKCMO »

beautyfromashes wrote: Tue Aug 07, 2018 10:47 am Just say no. No reason to give a reason.
It's not that hard to come up with a reason, like it will destroy walkability in the government district. It gives the city the ammunition is needs to respond to developers and their lawyers.

And I could give two shits about "local architecture" what does that even mean here? Everything is derivative, hardly anything is unique. Art Deco? Started somewhere else first. Neo-classical? Same. Glass curtain wall? Debatable. Not everything should look like the Block Building or Kauffman Center, which might be unique but is that really local?

The conversation with this project should be about form and ground-level interaction. I could care less what the upper floors look like because the only time you'll focus on that is when you're looking at a rendering.
Post Reply