OFFICIAL - Flashcube (720 Main)

Issues concerning Downtown as described by the Downtown Council. River to 31st Street, I-35 to Bruce R. Watkins.
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FangKC
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Re: "Flashcube" Building - 720 Main

Post by FangKC »

I can't believe they are getting historic tax credits. The building isn't yet 50 years old. Most exemptions to that rule are because the building is considered exceptional. I really doubt the Flashcube Building is considered an exceptional historic asset by many experts.

There are much older properties competing for approval and available tax credits. It doesn't seem fair they should be competing against a building that isn't yet 50 years old.

http://www.newstribune.com/news/missour ... ut/726851/
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Re: "Flashcube" Building - 720 Main

Post by scooterj »

shinatoo wrote:Glitz and Glory, really?

I was more irritated by the fact the article had to supply a link to explain what a flash cube is. (Which was then filled with comments by stunned kids wondering why light bulbs burned out so fast back then.)
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Re: "Flashcube" Building - 720 Main

Post by FangKC »

On Ozzy and Jack's World Tour this week (A&E Channel), Ozzy Osbourne meets up with a long-time fan when they are visiting the military's aircraft graveyard in Arizona. The fan presents an old Black Sabbath cassette tape for Ozzy to sign, and explains that the younger members of his crew didn't know what it was when he was showing it to them. They had never seen a cassette tape. :D
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Re: "Flashcube" Building - 720 Main

Post by flyingember »

https://www.kansascity.com/news/busines ... 97675.html

$20 million in unexpected costs claimed. More incentives approved.
Expecting to lose funding from HUD but changes wage requirements

Should start early next year and complete 2020

184 apartments
pickleball, basketball, rock climbing

40 units under $1200. Not crazy affordable but below the city standard
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Re: "Flashcube" Building - 720 Main

Post by FangKC »

“As we get further into it, we find more deterioration in the building,” said Jim Calvert, director of development and construction for Worcester.
Many of us on this forum have known for years the rumors that this building was poorly-built.
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Re: "Flashcube" Building - 720 Main

Post by beautyfromashes »

So, they got TIF already and are now asking for more TIF? And...pickleball?
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Re: "Flashcube" Building - 720 Main

Post by KC_JAYHAWK »

Can we just tear that building down and put the new ballpark there instead? Problem solved.
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Re: "Flashcube" Building - 720 Main

Post by TheLastGentleman »

KC_JAYHAWK wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 9:57 pm Can we just tear that building down and put the new ballpark there instead? Problem solved.
That area should never have a ballpark. A more beneficial fantasy would be returning the grid to how it was before urban renewal, complete with the junction
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Re: "Flashcube" Building - 720 Main

Post by KC_JAYHAWK »

Really? I always thought that area would be perfect for a ballpark...lots of under-utilized parking lots, right on the streetcar line, highway access. I would still like to see a deck or something to connect to the River market though. Deck the highway, turn it into a park where people can hang out before the games, grille, toss baseballs ect. Would be awesome.
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Re: "Flashcube" Building - 720 Main

Post by beautyfromashes »

TheLastGentleman wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 10:38 pm That area should never have a ballpark. A more beneficial fantasy would be returning the grid to how it was before urban renewal, complete with the junction
The space is so big it would take 1000 years to develop it all. I think a ballpark would take a good part of the space and greatly accelerate follow up development. Having the city contribute for a ballpark would be better than max TIFing to get it done. With a ballpark, you probably wouldn’t need TIF at all.
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Re: "Flashcube" Building - 720 Main

Post by flyingember »

beautyfromashes wrote: Fri Aug 17, 2018 8:25 am
TheLastGentleman wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 10:38 pm That area should never have a ballpark. A more beneficial fantasy would be returning the grid to how it was before urban renewal, complete with the junction
The space is so big it would take 1000 years to develop it all. I think a ballpark would take a good part of the space and greatly accelerate follow up development. Having the city contribute for a ballpark would be better than max TIFing to get it done. With a ballpark, you probably wouldn’t need TIF at all.
I know 1000 years is hyperbole but it would take about 5 years to develop all of the parking lots around 7th and Main. It's not because the current owners want to use the land for parking.

And a new ballpark will have massive subsidies. Probably will throw a TIF into the mix too.
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Re: "Flashcube" Building - 720 Main

Post by beautyfromashes »

flyingember wrote: Fri Aug 17, 2018 8:59 am I know 1000 years is hyperbole but it would take about 5 years to develop all of the parking lots around 7th and Main. It's not because the current owners want to use the land for parking.

And a new ballpark will have massive subsidies. Probably will throw a TIF into the mix too.
And the East Village will be completed in 5 years...15 years later now.

It was hyperbole, but I’d be surprised if there is anything of significance in my lifetime at this point. Development takes SO much longer than I thought when I first moved to the city.

I’d much rather the city subsidize a ballpark that prompts development that doesn’t need TIF than try and piecemeal a full North Loop.
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Re: "Flashcube" Building - 720 Main

Post by GRID »

flyingember wrote: Fri Aug 17, 2018 8:59 am
beautyfromashes wrote: Fri Aug 17, 2018 8:25 am
TheLastGentleman wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 10:38 pm That area should never have a ballpark. A more beneficial fantasy would be returning the grid to how it was before urban renewal, complete with the junction
The space is so big it would take 1000 years to develop it all. I think a ballpark would take a good part of the space and greatly accelerate follow up development. Having the city contribute for a ballpark would be better than max TIFing to get it done. With a ballpark, you probably wouldn’t need TIF at all.
I know 1000 years is hyperbole but it would take about 5 years to develop all of the parking lots around 7th and Main. It's not because the current owners want to use the land for parking.

And a new ballpark will have massive subsidies. Probably will throw a TIF into the mix too.
It's taken 20-30 years for Denver to finally start reaching full development of the Platte Valley and LoDo area (very similar to KC's north loop area) and that area has consistently had 10-15 tower cranes up in that area. KC is a much much slower growth city. Look at what has been built in all the parking lots around Sprint Center in ten years. I'm not saying anything bad about KC, but even today, the city changes pretty slowly. Downtown KC won't look all that different in 2030 than it does today. It will take many many decades to build out 80% of the empty lots on the east and north sides of the loop which is why I don't think adding more land to develop (decking the north loop) makes any sense.
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Re: "Flashcube" Building - 720 Main

Post by kas1 »

The blocks in the north loop are tiny. That area can be built out quickly (by real estate standards) once the land actually gets into the hands of developers. A lot of projects getting built downtown have footprints that are anywhere from 2 to 5 times the size of a typical north loop block. There have been a ton of rehab projects nearby in recent years, so I'm optimistic that a steady stream of new construction is on the horizon.
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Re: "Flashcube" Building - 720 Main

Post by flyingember »

kas1 wrote: Fri Aug 17, 2018 12:56 pm The blocks in the north loop are tiny. That area can be built out quickly (by real estate standards) once the land actually gets into the hands of developers. A lot of projects getting built downtown have footprints that are anywhere from 2 to 5 times the size of a typical north loop block. There have been a ton of rehab projects nearby in recent years, so I'm optimistic that a steady stream of new construction is on the horizon.
Each project actually increases the speed at which any given block will be built on. Imagine you have a single developer doing a project per year and ten blocks with ten owners that want to sell. In year 1 you have a 1:10 chance you get to sell. At the halfway point it becomes a 1:5 chance.

To compare cities apples to apples you need to have a count of the starting point. Twice as many projects for twice as many opportunities isn't greater growth
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Re: "Flashcube" Building - 720 Main

Post by DaveKCMO »

If you think Tower Properties is trying to market those North Loop parking lots for individual redevelopment (or develop them individually on their own), you are delusional. They are banking them (LOL) for something, and it's very likely downtown baseball.
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Re: "Flashcube" Building - 720 Main

Post by beautyfromashes »

DaveKCMO wrote: Fri Aug 17, 2018 1:41 pm If you think Tower Properties is trying to market those North Loop parking lots for individual redevelopment (or develop them individually on their own), you are delusional. They are banking them (LOL) for something, and it's very likely downtown baseball.
I agree. This is someone’s legacy project. The good thing is, you always want to be alive to see your legacy come to fruition. So, I think we’ll start to see a push for a DT stadium soon in that spot. And, it makes sense. It’s in the streetcar line, close to other development and gets a synergistic benefit by the developer holding adjacent properties and businesses in the vacinity.
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Re: "Flashcube" Building - 720 Main

Post by kas1 »

DaveKCMO wrote: Fri Aug 17, 2018 1:41 pm If you think Tower Properties is trying to market those North Loop parking lots for individual redevelopment (or develop them individually on their own), you are delusional. They are banking them (LOL) for something, and it's very likely downtown baseball.
You're not disagreeing with me. I was responding in context to the argument that you might as well put a stadium there because otherwise it would take 1000 years to build out the area. If the reason the land isn't getting developed is solely because it's being held for a stadium, then that would create a circular argument. All I'm saying is that I think people tend to have a skewed idea of how large the north loop parking crater is because it's a lot of blocks, but those blocks are only half the size of blocks in other parts of downtown. Something like River Market West Phase 2 would take up an entire block, and that's barely 100 units. A handful of projects of that scale could happen pretty much overnight as long as developers can access the land, and that would completely transform the area. (And developers don't have to wait on Tower Properties to get started. Two corners of 9th & Wyandotte were put up for sale already.)

As long as we're on the topic, I've never understood why this building is getting redeveloped at all if there's any serious intention of putting a baseball stadium there. It's hard enough to fit a stadium into that area even with this parcel available.
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Re: "Flashcube" Building - 720 Main

Post by flyingember »

DaveKCMO wrote: Fri Aug 17, 2018 1:41 pm If you think Tower Properties is trying to market those North Loop parking lots for individual redevelopment (or develop them individually on their own), you are delusional. They are banking them (LOL) for something, and it's very likely downtown baseball.
The last serious drawing of a stadium on the site didn't include 720 Main as existing. It was shown as torn down. Breaking up the potential superblock by selling 720 Main showed a change in their plans. They now own a U-shape of 5 properties from the two free weekend parking lots on the east through to Wyandotte west of 720 Main. The only way to build a stadium now would require capping I-70 and building it to the north.

A square stadium space is about 700 to 750 feet square and now the biggest space is is 650 x 275. They could build something weirdly shaped like Fenway if the stadium went all the way from 7th to Indep Ave between Delaware and Wyandotte.
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Re: "Flashcube" Building - 720 Main

Post by beautyfromashes »

All the more reason to tear down Flashcube. It’s got no historic context and obviously isn’t viable without big subsidies due to condition. It also might be nice to include the lots all the way to Central in a ballpark development. Would need to find a way to include the older building in the far north edge into the design, perhaps as offices similar to Camden Field in Baltimore.
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