Uptown Shoppes

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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warwickland
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Re: Uptown Shoppes

Post by warwickland »

this is a bizarre site plan. reminds me of those weird hybrid suburban developments that are trying to emulate "city living."
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Re: Uptown Shoppes

Post by brewcrew1000 »

warwickland wrote: Fri Sep 21, 2018 12:59 pm reminds me of those weird hybrid suburban developments that are trying to emulate "city living."
That should be the Motto of Kansas City - "Hybrid Suburban City trying to Emulate City Living while saving surface lot parking"
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chaglang
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Re: Uptown Shoppes

Post by chaglang »

Signs are posted for the upcoming CPC hearing.
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Re: Uptown Shoppes

Post by yeliab »

FangKC wrote: Thu Sep 20, 2018 11:45 pm The most ecologically-sound method of providing housing is to reuse older structures and just improve the insulation; and methods that are used to heat and cool them. For example, add a lot of insulation in the roof and walls, and put solar panels on the roof. If you stop using mostly natural gas and coal to heat and cool a 100-year-old single family house, that is a huge step forward.
I agree 100% about the ecological argument. Socio-economically, I would add that we have more vacant homes than homeless folks in this country. We don't actually *need* new housing, and you're absolutely right that destruction just to build anew is incredibly damaging to the earth. Many recent developments do not seem to be built for longevity (nor ecological friendliness), so many of them we may be rebuilding or repairing in just a few decades. This is one of the problems with the commodification of housing -- what incentive would developers have to create long-lasting structures planned obsolesce essentially guarantees you a future market (especially if you have already destroyed the sturdier structures)? In my opinion, it would be wise to invest in fixing up the abundance of existing properties utilizing existing materials when possible.
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FangKC
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Re: Uptown Shoppes

Post by FangKC »

We also have a potential workforce if we would train them in home repair and construction. There are unemployed living in the community. We would need to train people who can manage complicated projects like home renovation. You can have all the trained unemployed in the world, but if you don't have people capable of the complex skills it takes to run a home renovation business, then it's for naught. Most construction companies are set up to build new houses, to fix up derelict houses.

There are other methods of building homes than traditional wood-framed. One of the most ecological and efficient types are rammed-earth homes--especially in arid desert areas. However, it would take changing building codes.
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FangKC
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Re: Uptown Shoppes

Post by FangKC »

Uptown Lofts a Transformational ‘Valentine’ to Midtown
Construction on the $45 million Uptown Lofts project is scheduled to begin late next spring, a development that’s expected to transform the struggling corner of Valentine Road and Broadway into a neighborhood asset.

The project being developed by Sunflower Development Group, a big downtown developer, was granted a 25-year property tax abatement last week by the Planned Industrial Expansion Authority, the last public step required before construction.

It already has been approved at City Hall.

Besides providing 223 units of market-rate housing, the development will help solve two long-time problems in the area. It will replace the underperforming Uptown Shoppes retail strip and provide 380 parking spaces to the Uptown Theater across the street.
...
The apartment mix will be 90 studio units, 88 one-bedroom and 45 two-bedroom. Monthly rents for studios will be $854; one-bedrooms range from $935- to $1,341, and two-bedrooms will go from $1,604- to $1,713 per month.
...
The Uptown Lofts redevelopment long-range plan also calls for building a 92-room boutique hotel at the corner of Broadway and Valentine, but no project is currently in the works.
https://cityscenekc.com/uptown-lofts-a- ... o-midtown/
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KCDowntown
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Re: Uptown Shoppes

Post by KCDowntown »

Phase 2 of this project is calling for a hotel on the corner of Broadway and Valentine, and it appears to be moving forward.

Here is a draft of a financial review regarding the project.

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Critical_Mass
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Re: Uptown Shoppes

Post by Critical_Mass »

From the site plan in that doc, it looks like the flag is expected to be a Moxy Hotel (Marriott)
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TrolliKC
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Re: Uptown Shoppes

Post by TrolliKC »

I haven't been by in a while - has phase 1 started yet?
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Re: Uptown Shoppes

Post by WSPanic »

If Phase One is the Vape Shop closing and Papa Murphy's leaving - then yes. Otherwise, it seems to be status quo around there.
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Re: Uptown Shoppes

Post by TrolliKC »

That does sound like improvement, thanks
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Re: Uptown Shoppes

Post by earthling »

The hotel needs to be L shaped, stretched along Broadway. An urban designer would not have a surface lot facing Broadway.
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Re: Uptown Shoppes

Post by flyingember »

earthling wrote: Wed Jun 05, 2019 9:11 am The hotel needs to be L shaped, stretched along Broadway. An urban designer would not have a surface lot facing Broadway.
An urban designer will account for existing utility access points as reusing an electrical or natural gas drop point will save a lot of money.
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Re: Uptown Shoppes

Post by earthling »

^There isn't a difference for this location if an L shaped building at the corner the stretches along Broadway. See the draft layout in link above. Allowing a surface lot facing Broadway is just poor urban pedestrian friendly design, relatively better if it faces Valentine.
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Re: Uptown Shoppes

Post by flyingember »

earthling wrote: Wed Jun 05, 2019 11:44 am ^There isn't a difference for this location if an L shaped building at the corner the stretches along Broadway. See the draft layout in link above. Allowing a surface lot facing Broadway is just poor urban pedestrian friendly design, relatively better if it faces Valentine.
Which pedestrian scale are you promoting? Is your pedestrian goal to put people into the neighborhood or onto Broadway?
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Re: Uptown Shoppes

Post by earthling »

Pedestrian friendly streets, specifically making Broadway as contiguously connected at a pedestrian scale from block to block, which means no surface lots along Broadway sidewalk. There's an opportunity to do this with this site. Understandable that you live in the suburbs and wouldn't prioritize that but that is pedestrian friendly urban design that Midtown needs to be targeting more of, especially along Broadway.
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FangKC
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Re: Uptown Shoppes

Post by FangKC »

I agree with earthling on this. The hotel should be L-shaped and come right up to the sidewalk on Broadway north to the curb cut. If the hotel is set-back from the sidewalk, it should be only to allow for table seating for any street-level bar or restaurant. Because of the proximity to the Uptown Theater, and frequent live events, that corner is a prime spot for a restaurant and/or bar.
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Re: Uptown Shoppes

Post by WSPanic »

earthling wrote: Wed Jun 05, 2019 2:11 pm Pedestrian friendly streets, specifically making Broadway as contiguously connected at a pedestrian scale from block to block, which means no surface lots along Broadway sidewalk. There's an opportunity to do this with this site. Understandable that you live in the suburbs and wouldn't prioritize that but that is pedestrian friendly urban design that Midtown needs to be targeting more of, especially along Broadway.
I live and walk plenty in this neighborhood. I don't care whether it's on Broadway or not. It certainly doesn't "need" to be there. If the developer is going to capitalize in the current infrastructure and leave the parking where it is - fine. This development is a constant source of problems in the neighborhood and I invite any development that can take place and improve it.
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Re: Uptown Shoppes

Post by earthling »

^That's fine if you 'dont care' but it isn't ideal urban friendly pedestrian scale development for Broadway, which is what I'm pointing out. Surface lots along pedestrian active streets are a big no-no in urban design and that stretch of Broadway has an opportunity to tie Armour into Uptown Theatre stretch contiguously. Being content with 'anything is better than what's there now' is a problem with KC in general when it comes to ideal urban development, ending up with half-assed results. Most in Midtown are allowing Midtown to become suburbanized anyway and I doubt many will care, which will result in an unfortunate missed opportunity for a nice contiguous pedestrian friendly stretch. Midtown should be fighting surface lots as much as downtown, or at least not face streets that should be pedestrian friendly.

There's relatively little true urbanity in KC and when there's opportunity to improve areas very close to realizing it, too many just don't care or don't 'get it'. And yes, I am indeed nitpicking a half block. The suburban style strip mall across corner with parking in front instead of rear is a disaster too. Midtown used to be much more urban oriented than it is now.
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Re: Uptown Shoppes

Post by WSPanic »

Why is pedestrian scale ideal in a city that is not a pedestrian city? Are developers really supposed to say "fuck the people with cars, I'm going to cater to the 73 people that bike to work in KC"? I get you want density like some bigger cities have, but that's not where we live. I think there can be a happy medium where not every design is optimized for the Pedestrian-only lifestyle.
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