Renovations of apartment buildings along Armour Blvd.

Discuss items in the urban core outside of Downtown as described above. Everything in the core including the east side (18th & Vine area), Northeast, Plaza, Westport, Brookside, Valentine, Waldo, 39th street, & the entire midtown area.
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chaglang
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Re: Renovations of apartment buildings along Armour Blvd.

Post by chaglang »

CPC endorses the project unanimously. On to PZ&E.

My hunch is that MAC stays close to the Armour corridor and leverages the momentum they've created there. Taking over the languishing redevelopment of the old MGE headquarters could be a potential next development. (Assuming the building is for sale, etc, etc, etc)
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Re: Renovations of apartment buildings along Armour Blvd.

Post by earthling »

Even if MAC doesn't expand beyond Armour, their success may be what's influencing owners of other apt buildings nearby to upgrade (as well as rising rents downtown). Have noticed some below avg buildings along Warwick upgraded with new wooden balconies, also upgrades behind Walgreens between Main/Broadway, including some of those classic column balcony apt buildings N of 39th. Should pickup steam when streetcar extension is a sure thing.

Any indication that Midtown momentum of refurbs could slow down downtown momentum for new units as downtown runs out of buildings to refurb?
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Re: Renovations of apartment buildings along Armour Blvd.

Post by brewcrew1000 »

MAC Properties is now in St Louis in the Central West End. The reviews are like night and day between MAC Properties in Chicago and KC. They seem to be hated in Hyde Park Chicago while the people I talk to in KC seem to generally like them.
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Re: Renovations of apartment buildings along Armour Blvd.

Post by loftguy »

earthling wrote:Even if MAC doesn't expand beyond Armour, their success may be what's influencing owners of other apt buildings nearby to upgrade (as well as rising rents downtown). Have noticed some below avg buildings along Warwick upgraded with new wooden balconies, also upgrades behind Walgreens between Main/Broadway, including some of those classic column balcony apt buildings N of 39th. Should pickup steam when streetcar extension is a sure thing.

Any indication that Midtown momentum of refurbs could slow down downtown momentum for new units as downtown runs out of buildings to refurb?
Midtown has already picked up massively, both from the momentum of MAC and downtown.
Once the streetcar extension south is underway, it could pull some of the development 'pressure' off of downtown, as midtown realizes its boom.
Rehab is going to remain a sub-specialty in every neighborhood, while new construction is just beginning to pick up steam.
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Re: Renovations of apartment buildings along Armour Blvd.

Post by FangKC »

Big Apartment Plan for Armour and Troost Wins Plan Commission Endorsement

https://cityscenekc.com/big-apartment-p ... dorsement/
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Re: Renovations of apartment buildings along Armour Blvd.

Post by DaveKCMO »

FangKC wrote:Big Apartment Plan for Armour and Troost Wins Plan Commission Endorsement

https://cityscenekc.com/big-apartment-p ... dorsement/
Unanimous! There are more steps, so make sure people know that you support this project.
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Re: Renovations of apartment buildings along Armour Blvd.

Post by earthling »

FangKC wrote:Big Apartment Plan for Armour and Troost Wins Plan Commission Endorsement

https://cityscenekc.com/big-apartment-p ... dorsement/
“Since MAC Properties has put money into projects along Armour, we’ve gone from drug deals, prostitutes and shots fired to now having dog walkers and people pushing baby carriages.”
This stretch was known as 'sex offender row' in the 80s/90s, apparently the place to go for sex offenders. The transformation is the best kind of gentrification you can get if it even deserves the controversy of that word.
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Re: Renovations of apartment buildings along Armour Blvd.

Post by chaglang »

That was the kind of thing that Hyde Park complained to the city about for years. The city couldn’t get it fixed, and the plan for a while was to tear down buildings to mitigate the problems. MAC’s redevelopment was so effective that now Hyde Parkers get to complain about parking on Armour instead of crime. Progress! Someday soon they may also get to complain about the price of dinner in a restaurant in one of MAC’s new buildings.
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Re: Renovations of apartment buildings along Armour Blvd.

Post by FangKC »

I am always amazed at how residents are willing to blame physical buildings, and ones that are solidly-constructed, on social ills in the community. It was never the fault of the buildings. It was the fault of the building owners and management; policing; and maybe to some extent the parole officers that tend to bunch sex offenders together within the community. Had they leveled every building along Armour, social ills would still exist and get moved around. Then the problem the City would be facing now is several thousand less apartment units available for rent during a growing housing crisis in Kansas City.
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Re: Renovations of apartment buildings along Armour Blvd.

Post by chaglang »

Totally agree, and on a separate note it points out the folly of the KCMO/KCPD building demolition program.
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Re: Renovations of apartment buildings along Armour Blvd.

Post by earthling »

Example: Main through Midtown used to be a redlight district with places like Kimo/Dove Theatre, Newsroom, Pink Garter, Ray's, etc and also 'seedy' leaning considered places like Sandersons, Milton's Jazz room, etc. Some of those wonderful old brick buildings were torn down associated to what represented them unfortunately and replaced with 'progress", crappy suburban style stripmalls with parking in front, carwash, fast food pad sites. Sigh.

Kimo/Dove Theater
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chaglang
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Re: Renovations of apartment buildings along Armour Blvd.

Post by chaglang »

Now I really want neon on the MAC buildings.
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Re: Renovations of apartment buildings along Armour Blvd.

Post by FangKC »

I miss the blade neon signs on buildings along streets.
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Re: Renovations of apartment buildings along Armour Blvd.

Post by flyingember »

FangKC wrote:I miss the blade neon signs on buildings along streets.
I forget where, but I read a piece on the decline in neon.

The summary is a combination of cost and decline of workers who could do the work led to an early decline.

Part of it was neon is extremely bright and in a mixed use environment, has lots of detractors. A soft white light shining on a sign has nowhere near the impact in someone's window than a huge neon sign does.

LEDs were the final thing that killed neon of course. And a LED array can be designed to go dimmer at night to not impact neighbors.
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Re: Renovations of apartment buildings along Armour Blvd.

Post by FangKC »

AlbertHammond wrote:
Eon Blue wrote:So the historic building at the southwest corner is going to die?
That looks like a great building. At least try to save the facade! Image
The Boulevard Manor Hotel / Marquette Club building is for sale.

Image

https://www2.colliers.com/properties/fo ... USA1041379

PDF flyer.

https://listingsprod.blob.core.windows. ... d70e669eed
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Re: Renovations of apartment buildings along Armour Blvd.

Post by chaglang »

The FMV established during the eminent domain process for the MAC buildings placed the value of this building at maybe 1/5th of that.
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Re: Renovations of apartment buildings along Armour Blvd.

Post by chaglang »

The MAC development is being held up by Shields. I'm reasonably sure it's over parking and the concerns of one Central Hyde Park resident. If you like this project and live within the HPNA boundaries, you might want to vote for regime change at this fall's elections.
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Re: Renovations of apartment buildings along Armour Blvd.

Post by FangKC »

Shields is running for mayor. She is also a politician. A targeted email campaign specifically to her--supporting the project as is--might break her hold if she sees that there are voters who support the project as planned.

The points that can be made are:

* too much parking reduces development density;
* adds costs to the project;
* reduces building of affordable housing units--especially on transit routes;
* millennials are increasingly foregoing owning vehicles, and opting for mass transit and on-call rides.
* street parking spaces do not belong to homeowners;
* the development sits on the Troost MAX bus route, so it's transit-friendly;
* adds more asphalt-covered parking which increases heat in summer, and water run-off into City storm drains;
* surrounding neighborhoods already have historic apartment buildings with no off-street parking spaces;
* retirees and millennials are seeking walkable, dense neighborhoods in the central City, and not suburban-type complexes.

If forum participants can find supporting articles, and include links, that might also be helpful.

Any other points to be made that I have neglected?

I would also suggest writing in your own words, and not copying and pasting, since that is more effective than a politician seeing everyone is just forwarding one pre-written form letter.

katheryn.shields@kcmo.org

The other point I will make is where was Shields when it came to saving the historic supermarket building on the SW corner? She's all over Westport with historic preservation. Why didn't she "put on a hold" on this project to get MAC to redesign and construct around it? I don't recall her making any protest. Why are Westport buildings worthy of preservation, and not those on Troost? Just saying.

https://tinyurl.com/ybp25x8w
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Re: Renovations of apartment buildings along Armour Blvd.

Post by beautyfromashes »

When do campaigns traditionally gear up? Unseating Shields will be difficult and fighting her name recognition will take a big effort.
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Re: Renovations of apartment buildings along Armour Blvd.

Post by FangKC »

I don't think Shields will be elected mayor. I think it will either be Jason Kander or Scott Wagner.

However I do think it's important for her to hear more points-of-view about this project than just a very vocal neighborhood association president.
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