Midtown KC Post

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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aknowledgeableperson
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Midtown KC Post

Post by aknowledgeableperson »

Came across this article in a Facebook group about KC that I am in. Looks like people were fighting density back in the 1920's.

http://midtownkcpost.com/roanoke-proper ... -in-1920s/
"In the 1920s, the owners of single-family homes in the Roanoke neighborhood took a stand against the growing number of apartment buildings being erected across the city. Their concern about development of multifamily housing has been a constant theme across the history of Midtown.
As part of our Uncovering History Project, the Midtown KC Post is taking a look at each block in Midtown, including a set of 1940 tax assessment photos which is available for many blocks. (Many people seem confused by the tax assessment photos, which all include a man holding a sign. Here’s the story behind them). Today, the block bounded by Valentine and W. 37th, Summit (Southwest Trafficway), and Madison Avenue."

Some more about Midtown KC Post for those interested.
http://midtownkcpost.com/help-midtown-k ... r-history/
"At the Midtown KC Post, we cover daily news and bring you information about the community. But we’re also interested in the past and how Midtown got to be the place it is today. That’s why we’ve started the “Uncovering History” project, which includes a book about the history of Midtown Kansas City neighborhoods which is in the works.
We need your help. We’re looking for stories and photos about Midtown, especially the years between 1880 and 1930 when Midtown was being built. If you have pictures and stories, please email us or call us at 816-516-2446.
We’re interested in the following neighborhoods: Center City, Coleman Highlands, Countryside, Crestwood, Heart of Westport, Hyde Park, Manheim Park, Old Hyde Park, Plaza-Westport, Rockhill, Volker, Roanoke, South Plaza, Southmoreland, Squire Park, Sunset Hill, Troostwood, Valentine, West Plaza, and Westwood Park.
We’d love to share your stories and pictures with our audience and include them in the book."
flyingember
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Re: Midtown KC Post

Post by flyingember »

The owners are part of the anti-density groups that have opposed projects. They're trying to encourage people to be against more density.
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chaglang
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Re: Midtown KC Post

Post by chaglang »

There's an interesting contradiction between their positions that (a) the past was better, and (b) density is bad, because they have opposed attempts to build Midtown back to its historical level of density.
brewcrew1000
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Re: Midtown KC Post

Post by brewcrew1000 »

I can't stand Midtown post Kc now, all its turned into is "do you remember when Fill in the blank with some bullshit about a theater or ice cream shop" and who really gives a crap if they opposed the apartments in the 1920's. There were probably 4-5 times as many people living the single family homes as well as a lot more Apartments all over the city and I guarantee some blocks in the 1920's did not have 0-3 homes on them like some blocks today.
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FangKC
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Re: Midtown KC Post

Post by FangKC »

I have no problem with the anti-density people as long as they are willing to pay much higher property taxes to compensate for their opposition to healthy density. If people who are currently paying $2,500 a year had to pay $7,500 a year in property taxes, they might not oppose having more taxpayers in their neighborhood.

Most people in low-density neighborhoods don't realize that their property taxes don't even cover the cost of replacement of their street surface on their block--and that doesn't count all the other city services they require.

And depending on where they shop, their annual sales taxes paid might not contribute enough to what they cost their city. For example, if a resident lives in south Kansas City and does almost all of their shopping, and eating out, movies, etc., in Overland Park or Lee's Summit, very little of their sales tax spending is going to contribute to their home city. This is less a problem in some large cities, but in the KC Metro, it's common for residents to drive out of their own city (or state) to shop in other municipalities. Sometimes it's the very lack of density in neighborhoods that causes this to happen. If your neighborhood is not dense enough to support a grocery store, or big retail node (Walmart, Lowe's, Home Depot, Target) with a bunch of restaurants, then you might be forced to drive over the state line, or into another municipality to shop and recreate. But continuing to oppose healthy density levels will never solve that problem.

Want to see an example of this problem?

THE FATAL FLAW IN YOUR TOWN'S DEVELOPMENT PATTERN

https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/201 ... nt-pattern
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